Travel / Outdoors

Olympic National Park‘s 4.5-mile Whiskey Bend Road, on the east bank of the Elwha River, is closed after the first mile due to a slide and extensive road damage, park officials reported Monday. Closures in Olympic National Park. (National Park Service map) Heavy rains and high winds earlier this month resulted in a slide that destroyed…

  With dam removal, many changes have come to the Elwha River Valley. (photo by Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times) Olympic National Park’s Olympic Hot Springs Road, in the Elwha River Valley, has reopened following a three-year closure while contractors removed the Glines Canyon Dam. Visitors may now reach the Boulder Creek Trailhead, which provides hiker and…

You’ll pay more to visit Mount Rainier National Park, including the popular trails at the Sunrise area, under the park’s proposed fee increases. (Mike Siegel / Seattle Times photo) Mount Rainier National Park is planning to raise entrance fees, as are other national parks around the country, as soon as 2015. Entrance fees at Rainier would increase…

This August 2014 photo shows the last section of the Glines Canyon Dam before its recent removal from the Elwha River. (Steve Ringman photo/The Seattle Times) Both dams are gone from the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula, and in Olympic National Park a new accessible parking area and viewpoint opened Friday to give the public…

Get into Washington’s national parks — Rainier (top left), Olympic (right) and North Cascades (bottom left) for free on 11 days in 2015. (Seattle Times photos) Go wild and free at national parks, national forests and other federally-managed public lands with 11 fee-free days in 2015. There will be no entrance fee charged on the following days,…

Visitors to Olympic National Park in coming days should expect delays on some park roads as crews begin work to remove dirt and debris from drainage ditches.  Roads will remain open throughout the work, but some significant traffic stops are anticipated, park officials announced. Expect delays as follows: Sol Duc Road: Motorists may encounter northbound delays…

A meadow and “The Mountain.” (Ian Phelps) Want some tips on where to stay,  hike or just enjoy the scenery, and scenic drives,  in Washington’s national parks? Brian Cantwell and Kristin Jackson, the travel and outdoors editors/writers for The Seattle Times, answered reader questions about about Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park and…

A beach sunset at Olympic National Park. (Steve Fu photo.) Today’s the last day to submit your photos of Washington’s national parks for our Seattle Times photo contest. There’s been a flood of photos – more than 350 and still counting. The majority are of Mount Rainier National Park which looms large in Washingtonians’ psyches and lives….

Madison Falls is in the Elwha Valley of Olympic National Park. (photo by Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times) The one-tenth mile Madison Falls Trail in Olympic National Park’s Elwha Valley has closed to public entry for three weeks beginning Monday.  Park trail crews and volunteers will make significant improvements to the trail, including construction of…

We’re writing about Washington’s three big national parks, with stories on Mount Rainier  and Olympic National Park and North Cascades  National Park. In recent weeks we’ve asked readers to submit their best images from Washington’s national parks for a photo contest. THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thanks to all who entered; you can…