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Month: June 2015

Distracted Driver Steers Car Off Olympic National Park’s Hurricane Ridge Road

Over the weekend, three residents of Ohio were making their way up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. For 16 miles, their Chrysler Town & Country mini-van bobbed and weaved up this incredible road, gaining 5,000 feet of elevation as they neared the panoramic wonderland of Hurricane Ridge and the Olympic Mountains. With every foot of …

Beat the Heat: Nine Hikes to Stay Cool Around Olympic National Park

The region in and around Olympic National Park is known throughout the world as being a wet, damp, and sometimes dreary place. With an average rainfall in some locations of over 14 feet, it is easy to see why we have that reputation. During the summer months, especially in the last couple of years, the rainforests, …

Rainforest on Fire: Images and Video of the Paradise Fire in Olympic National Park

Forest fires are nothing new for the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park- a fire near Forks, WA burnt 38,000 acres in 1951. Forest fires can be good, in a way, clearing out the underbrush, downing old giants, and pressing the reset button on the wilderness along rivers and valleys. Yet, there is something disconcerting about …

Campfire Ban in Olympic National Park’s Backcountry Wilderness

In news that should come as no surprise, Olympic National Park officials have issued a ban on backcountry campfires, including the coastal sections of the park. In a press release issues on June 24th, 2015,  Sarah Creachbaum announced that campfires in Olympic National Park will  be allowed ONLY in established fire grates at front-country campgrounds.  The ban …

Washington State Parks to Close July 1st, 2015…Maybe

Updated: Shutdown Avoided- http://www.king5.com/story/news/2015/06/27/wa-state-budget-agreement/29383793/  Thanks to a severe ideological disagreement by our elected officials over the new budget, Washington State is on the verge of having the first government shutdown in state history. With a government shutdown looming, many issues arise, including the possible furloughing of 26,000 state employees. The details of the Republican and Democrat budgets are about …

Crews Struggling to Suppress Wildfire Burning in Olympic’s Queets Rainforest

Updated June 24th, 2015 10:50AM Five days after the Paradise fire was first spotted  burning 13 miles from the trailhead along the Queets Rainforest in Olympic National Park, National Park officials made the determination to attempt to put the fire out. Started by a lighting strike, the fire was undetected in this remote region of Olympic …

Olympic National Park’s Staircase and Elwha Regions See Huge Increases in Visitors

Through the first five months of 2015, Olympic National Park visitation is up 3.6%, with 737,085 people exploring the Northwestern-most National Park in the contiguous United States. Olympic has already more than likely seen it’s millionth visitor of the year, as the park draws nearly 400,000 people during the month of June. The increase in attendance is …

Forest Fire Burning in Queets Rainforest in Olympic National Park

Updated Thursday, June 19th at 9:42AM PST NEW UPDATES: https://outdoor-society.com/crews-to-surpress-wildfire-burning-in-olympics-queets-rainforest/ As we reported on Monday the 15th, a forest fire is currently burning in the Queets Rainforest of Olympic National Park. Reported to us via social media, and later confirmed by a press release, Olympic National Forest and Park Officials are reporting that there is a small forest fire …

Enchanted Valley Reopens to Camping After Bear Scare Closure

Seven weeks. That is how long the actions of irresponsible campers forced the closure of the campsites in Olympic national Park’s Enchanted Valley. As we reported a few months ago, the Enchanted Valley camping areas were closed due to bear activity. The area was closed on April 24 after visitors reported that black bears had acquired and eaten …

Periscoping Glacier National Park: Adventures in Social Media

The National Park Service has an interesting relationship with technology. For years, the parks have been struggling to adapt and keep up to the fast moving tech boom. For most National Parks, things like Instagram accounts and Twitter pages are either rarely used or non-existent, with the majority of web content coming from the NPS …