• Olympic: Three Parks in One

    Olympic

    National Park Washington

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  • Olympic Hot Springs Road Closed

    The Elwha Valley's Olympic Hot Springs Road is closed to public entry beyond the Altair Campground during removal of the Glines Canyon Dam. Olympic Hot Springs is not accessible from the Elwha.

  • Elwha River Closures

    Boating is prohibited on the Elwha River between Upper Lake Mills Trail to Altair Campground.

  • Changes to Visitor Services Due to Sequestration

    Due to mandatory, across the board budget cuts, some visitor services at Olympic National Park have changed. See the Plan Your Visit section for more information.

Elwha Valley Access Updates

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Date: June 12, 2012

Whiskey Bend Road - Daily Closures June 25 - 29
The Elwha Valley's Whiskey Bend Road will close from 7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. daily from Monday, June 25 through Friday, June 29 to allow safe passage for heavy truck traffic hauling material from the Glines Canyon Dam area.

The road will reopen each day at 5:30 p.m. and will remain open overnight to allow trailhead access before closing again at 7:00 a.m.

Altair Campground to Close July 2 - July 31
Contractors will use a series of controlled blasts to lower the Glines Canyon Dam in July, necessitating a safety-related closure of Altair Campground. The campground will close on the evening of July 1 and will remain closed through the entire month.

"Dam removal contractor Barnard Construction will be working steadily throughout the month of July to lower Glines Canyon Dam," said Olympic National Park Acting Superintendent Todd Suess. "With the rest of the summer work season restricted by 'fish windows', Barnard needs to maximize their efforts throughout July."

Controlled blasting will result in more a sudden water release than the hydraulic hammer previously used to remove Glines Canyon Dam. "While we regret the inconvenience to our visitors, safety concerns dictate that we must close Altair Campground for the month of July," explained Suess.

Visitors are reminded that the Glines Canyon Dam and the former Elwha Dam site are still active construction areas and are closed to all public entry.

Did You Know?

Mt. Olympus in winter

That Mount Olympus receives over 200 inches of precipitation each year and most of that falls as snow? At 7,980 feet, Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Olympic National Park and has the third largest glacial system in the contiguous U.S.