<< Seen Around Port Angeles

12/14/17 - Why Is Olympic Hot Springs Road Still Closed?

Like many, we've been wondering when Olympic Hot Springs Road is likely to reopen. We want to get back to the trails out of Whiskey Bend and to Olympic Hot Springs. We drove out to take a look and see how the river was flowing. We parked at Madison Falls and walked past the gate and followed the road over the temporary bridge. We could see that the road wasn't in great shape, but last time it was completely flooded. Now the waters had receded, so we pressed on.

We didn't get very far. Maybe a quarter mile past the temporary bridge there was a gap in the road and a branch of the Elwha river running through that gap. It wasn't just some little stream, but a full fledged torrent, maybe thirty feet wide. This wasn't something that could be easily stopped or bridged. The remainder of Olympic Hot Springs Road, including the ranger station, was cut off.

On our way back, we stopped to study one of the signs describing the temporary trail that the park service has blazed. It cuts inland near where the road gets its first view of the river. According to the sign, the trail runs inland and uphill and continues south past the east side of the campground. It appears to rejoin Olympic Hot Springs Road down near the ranger station and the junction with Whiskey Bend Road. In other words, it is possible to head further down the road on foot, but not otherwise, and this isn't likely to change very soon.

The road wasn't in great shape.

We could see a gap up ahead.

That's a new branch of the Elwha.

Some more road damage

Even more road damage

The river wild

More of the Elwha River

Keywords: elwha, olympic hot springs, trails