Olympic News

Quinault Graves Creek Road and campground will reopen Friday, Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin announced today. The campground will provide typical winter season services, with privy toilets and no running water; flush toilets, and running water will be provided for thesummer season beginning in late March.“We are thankful for the patience and support of the greater Quinault community for restoring access to this area,” Gustin said. “Throughout the project, our goal has been to

Lake Quinault Lodge in Washington’s majestic Olympic Peninsula is hosting another round of Quinault Quintessentials, a series of culinary weekends featuring dishes inspired by the Pacific Northwest. Beginning Nov. 6-8, 2009, guests to Lake Quinault Lodge have the opportunity to spend the weekend with Executive Chef Patrick Norris, tasting and learning about the featured flavors of the region.

A popular tubing and sliding area for older children and adults at Hurricane Ridge is too dangerous to be opened this winter season, park officials said.But Olympic National Park managers are interested in hearing suggestions for alternative sites to the Sunrise Family Snowplay Area at a public workshop Oct. 15

"Did you see the bear?" the backpacker standing at the side of the trail asked. "He sure saw you." Well, no, I'd missed him, screened by a few trees even though we peacefully passed within about 200 yards of each other. But I had excuses: Like the bear, I was stuffing myself with wild blueberries. And unlike the bear, I was frequently finding myself staring slack-jawed at the astonishingly beautiful vistas of Olympic National Park's High Divide trail.

For the first time ever, the Olympic Peninsula is offering its popular “Trio of Treasures” package during the fall travel season. Available, Sept. 14 through Oct. 24, 2009, the package allows guests to explore the best of the Peninsula and its three unique ecosystems - all for one low cost. And with “New Moon,” the second of the “Twilight” series, hitting theaters this November, fans are sure to be searching for deals to visit the very location Bella and Edward fell in love.

Recreation and solitude: Hikes, camping, river provide plenty of opportunities to escapeThe North Fork Skokomish River flows in shades of green, blue and jade – and wild rainbow and bull trout fin in the deep pools.Ospreys hover overhead as campers pitch tents or ease trailers into spacious, tree-shaded spots that overlook the clear, rushing river.Staircase, an out-of-the way spot at the dead end of a gravel road, seems like a long, long way from the bustling Puget Sound, but this low-key, Olympic National Park paradise is just 54 miles from Olympia.

Ancient stands of cedar and Douglas fir shroud steep ridges and shade trails that snake far into wilderness.

Olympic National Park will host a special community event, ‘An Evening in the Olympics,’ on Tuesday, September 15 at 7 p.m. in the Port Angeles High School auditorium. The free event will be moderated by Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin and will feature a presentation by noted Sequim photographer Ross Hamilton, traditional songs and dances by the Klallam Dance Group and a special screening of ‘The National Parks: This is America,’ a new film by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns.

The Trail is diverse, and takes a wide variety of transportation modes, from paved, wheelchair accessible pathways, Forest Service roads, Scenic Byway and forested trails. One falls is reached only from the river in a kayak or a raft, another is seen from a boat in saltwater. Still several others are in the backcountry of Olympic National Park and require a little more planning to reach.

Three large fires and two smaller blazes -- all ignited by lightning -- continue to burn in the Olympic National Park as reinforcements come in from elsewhere in the country to help control the flames.Two of the fires -- the Constance fire, which has consumed 442 acres of forest in the Dosewallips River Valley at Constance Creek, and the Ten Mile fire, now grown to 379 acres -- are within 15 miles of Brinnon, but park officials say they pose no threat to the town.

Nestled in the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula, Shi Shi Beach is a jaw-dropping part of the state -- where forested bluffs, tangy salt air and majestic stacks rising from the ocean are dizzying reminders of nature's bounty in this part of the world.You'll forget the logistical hassles and roughly seven hours spent getting to this part of Olympic National Park from Belling

A new citizen scientist program will recruit volunteers to hike, camp and observe marmots in Olympic National Park next year.The program, funded with $26,300 from Washington's National Park fund, will help scientists know why the animals are seeing a population decline, Eleanor B. Kittelson, the fund's executive director, told the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce at its Monday luncheon.

The National Park Service plans to begin this fall the construction of the Lower Elwha Fish Hatchery, a necessary step toward the removal of two dams on the Elwha River.

The book is not what you might dread. Olympic National Park: A Natural History by Sequim poet and nature writer Tim McNulty delves into global warming and an ecosystem filled with fragile life forms, but it is far from a dry, dreary tome. 

Park rangers say 30 percent of visitors are wide-eyed Twilight fans.