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. Heavy rains and high winds earlier this month resulted in a slide that destroyed more than 50 linear feet of the roadbed…

  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 stock-user access to the Olympic Hot Springs Trail, a 2.5-mile hike from the trailhead. Park officials urge visitors to consult…

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 to $25 for a vehicle pass good for seven days, up from the current $15, park officials said Tuesday.  Olympic National Park has proposed the same increase…

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 a better look at the free-flowing river. The 10-space parking area and viewpoint can be reached by following the gravel Whiskey Bend Road about one mile…

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, according to this chart from the U.S. Forest Service:   2015 Free-free Days Dates Event Participating Agency Jan. 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Day U.S. Forest Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Park Service Bureau…

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…

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 North Cascades National Park in a live…

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. But there also have been some lovely photos submitted…

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 a new rock retaining wall, installation of new railings and trail surface, and replanting of the work area. This…

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…