Park access road will remain closed

N.S. NOKKENTVED, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Monday, April 8, 2002

HOODSPORT -- A key access road to Olympic National Park on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula that was washed out by a winter storm will remain closed at least through this year's recreation season, officials say.

Storms closed four major roads in the Olympic National Forest this winter. Washouts blocked Dosewallips Road, Hamma Hamma Road and Forest Service Road 2441. Lake Cushman Road was partly blocked by a large landslide.

Lake Cushman and Hamma Hamma roads have been repaired and reopened, said Susan Graham, a spokeswoman for the Hood Canal Ranger District.

But Dosewallips Road remains closed. High water in the Dosewallips River washed out about 100 yards of the road and the hillside behind it, about 10 miles from U.S. Highway 101, blocking access to the Elkhorn Campground, and to Olympic National Park's Dosewallips Campground, ranger station and trailheads.

Recreationists miss out

That's a big loss for recreationists, said Judy Carey of Olympia, an avid hiker.

The Dosewallips Campground is important to families with children, she said.

It has new picnic tables and bathrooms and an easy one-mile loop trail that's suitable for small children.

The trailhead at Dosewallips leads to trails that connect with the rest of the park -- the Enchanted Valley, the Elwha River, the Gray Wolf River and the trail to the Boulder shelter in the Buckhorn Wilderness.

Also, the area is on the dry side of the Olympics, and the weather often is good, Carey said.

The Forest Service is considering solutions, Graham said.

Officials are conducting an environmental analysis to determine options. Those options include rebuilding the road in its present location, re-routing the road to the north between the present location and the Buckhorn Wilderness, or ending the road at the washout about a mile from the Elkhorn Campground. It's about four miles farther to the Dosewallips Campground.

If the road is cut short, the options will include developing a trailhead and a connecting trail instead of the road to the campgrounds and trailheads in the park.

N.S. Nokkentved covers the outdoors for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5445 and at nnokkent@olympia. gannett.com.

Washed-out route to campgrounds on Olympic Peninsula awaits repairs

Add your input

Forest Service officials are interested in hearing about any issues that should be covered in their analysis of possible remedies for the Dosewallips Road closure.

Comments or concerns must be sent by April 20 to Steve Ricketts, Hood Canal Ranger District, P.O. Box 280, Quilcene WA 98376.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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