• 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 from Upper Lake Mills Trail downstream to the Highway 112 bridge, except for the stretch between Altair Campground and the Highway 101 bridge.

  • 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.

Park Newsletter for October 19, 2007

two fish leaping over white water

Coho salmon make their way to spawning grounds along the Sol Duc River.

Coho Jumping at Salmon Cascades

Summer coho are now spawning in the Sol Duc River and park fisheries biologists project great salmon-watching opportunities this weekend at Salmon Cascades.

The Sol Duc River summer coho run is earlier that most coho runs on the Olympic Peninsula. They return in late October, while most coho runs on the peninsula return in November and December. Sol Duc summer coho spawn between Sol Duc Falls and Salmon Cascades.

The Salmon Cascades area is closed to all fishing, from 100 yards upstream of the cascades to 250 yards (or as posted) downstream. Park fishing regulations.

Watch salmon jumping the Cascades. (10 second video.)

More on visiting the Sol Duc Valley and Salmon Cascades.

 
two wooden chairs near lakeshore; rowboats along shore
Two chairs invite relaxation on a sunny fall day at Lake Crescent Lodge.  The NPS has just begun the process of developing a new contract for operation of this concession and two others at Olympic National Park.
Phaedra Fuller
 

New Concessions Contracts in the Works

A condition assessment and market analysis team visited Olympic this week to begin the process of developing new concessions contracts for the Lake Crescent Lodge, Fairholme Store and Hurricane Ridge Snack Bar and Gift Shop.

Information gathered this week will be used in developing the requests for proposals, which are scheduled to be released in spring 2008. The new contracts are targeted to take effect in January 2009.

More.

Did You Know?

rocky beach

Olympic National Park protects 73 miles of wild Pacific coast.  Tidepools, sandy beaches and rocky cliffs can all be found here.