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Last week’s storm may have been a dud for many regions around the Pacific Northwest, but it did pack quite a punch to the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park. During the storm that many in the Seattle area mocked online, the wet, windy and rough weather wreaked havoc in the area. Campgrounds were closed, trees fell and trapped a group of children on a field trip, and now many roads are full of debris or worse. According to Olympic National Park officials, cleanup from this storm may take quite a bit of time. After all, we are still working to repair roads from last year’s storms.
The biggest news from the storm, aside from wind speeds and heavy rain, has to be the latest announcement by Olympic National Park officials. According to a tweet on October 17th, 2016, the Hoh Road, leading to the Hoh Rainforest, sustained substation damage from rain & high water over the weekend. The remains closed at the park boundary, with no timeline for reopening. If you are needing a rainforest fix, try heading out to the Quinault Rainforest instead. Area trails and day adventures can be found in our Definitive Guide to Olympic National Park and Peninsula.
Currently, the Upper Hoh Road is one of four roads closed in Olympic National Park due to the storm. The other roads closed due to storm damage are the Deer Park Road, the road to Mora and the Graves Creek Roads. These roads are expected to open up when needed cleaning and repairs have been completed. The Deer Park road may be closed for the season, depending on if the snowfall expected to fall does indeed accumulate in the region. The Olympic Hot Springs and Whiskey Bend Road are both also closed, but this is due to construction to repair last year’s storm damage.
The storm is also responsible for closing seven of Olympic National Park’s 16 campgrounds. The only campgrounds currently open are the Heart O’the Hills, Kalaloch and Sol Duc Campgrounds. The walk-in camping at Dosewallips is also currently open, but requires a 5.5 mile hike.
We will update these campground closures and road closures as they are updated. For more adventures in areas that are currently open, please check out our guidebooks or send us a message on FaceBook or Twitter!
Stay safe and don’t worry, the roads and access to the Pacific Northwest’s favorite National Park will reopen again!
Header Image via Olympic National Park
EXPLORE OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK THIS FALL LIKE AN EXPERT!
