Olympic National Park, WA, will reopen the Hurricane Ridge area on June 27 after a fire destroyed the historic Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge on May 7.
Parking spaces will be limited, and there will not be any indoor spaces to protect visitors from inclement weather. Portable toilets will be available.
“We are excited to re-open this area to visitors and are committed to restoring permanent visitor services in the future. We are also thankful for the public’s understanding. Our commitment is the safety of our visitors.”
– Superintendent Sula Jacobs
Access to Hurricane Ridge Road will be limited from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Due to restroom capacity, the daily limit is 315 vehicles, with the parking area supporting 175 vehicles at a time. Once capacity is reached for the day, the road will close to private vehicles. The park will monitor the entry system and adjust as needed, including daily vehicle capacity. Additional details and future updates are on the park website: Hurricane Ridge – Post-Fire – Olympic National Park.
Visitors are encouraged to use the Clallam Transit Shuttle to avoid long lines at the Heart O’ the Hills entrance station. The shuttle will operate several runs a day. A detailed schedule is available at: www.clallamtransit.com/hurricaneridge. This shuttle will operate even if the road is closed to private vehicles.
Weather can be unpredictable at Hurricane Ridge. Visitors should check the weather forecast before traveling because indoor warming spaces and drinking water will not be available at the site.
Hurricane Hill Road, a 1.5-mile road beyond the Hurricane Ridge parking area, will be open. Portable toilets will be available in Picnic Areas A and B.
Obstruction Point Road will be open to vehicles. Visitors should be prepared for an 8-mile gravel, narrow, winding mountain road with some steep drop-offs. Trails from Obstruction Point Road may still be snow-covered. Wilderness users can obtain permits for overnight camping from Obstruction Point via recreation.gov or in person at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles.
Cyclists can use Hurricane Ridge Road once it reopens to the public. Portable toilets will be available at mileposts 9 and 12.
Additional road closures are likely once the investigation is complete and the clean-up process begins. The exact dates for the full closures will be announced when they are known.
The fire remains under investigation. The day lodge area is fenced and closed to the public for safety.
The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge was a two-story, 12,201-square-foot historic structure built in 1952. It was closed to visitors and was undergoing extensive rehabilitation at the time of the fire. A law enforcement ranger on patrol first reported the fire.
Visitors are encouraged to check www.nps.gov/olym for any changes in the status of the road and other facilities.
According to Wikipedia, Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area is a small ski area in the northwest United States, located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. It is within Olympic National Park, seventeen miles (27 km) south of Port Angeles.
Hurricane Ridge is one of only three lift-serviced ski areas operating in a U.S. National Park (Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park and Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort in Cuyahoga Valley National Park are the others). It is the westernmost ski area in the continental United States.
