Olympic National Park's Hurricane Ridge will reopen June 27 after a fire burned the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge to the ground in May.
Parking spaces will be limited and there will not be any indoor spaces available at the Hurricane Ridge area, which sees about 300,000 annual visitors. There will be portable toilets available, according to the National Park Service.
"We are excited to re-open this area to visitors and are committed to restoring permanent visitor services in the future," NPS Superintendent Sula Jacobs said in an online news release.
Authorities are still investigating the fire that fully engulfed and destroyed the lodge on May 7. The day lodge area will be fenced off and closed to the public when the area reopens, NPS said.
Park staff will limit access to Hurricane Ridge Road daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Only 315 vehicles will be allowed each day, with the parking area supporting 175 vehicles at a time, due to the capacity of the portable toilets, NPS said.
Staff will allow the first 175 vehicles to enter at Heart O' the Hills Entrance Station on Hurricane Ridge Road. After the first 175 vehicles, the next 140 vehicles will be metered at the entrance station.
Hurricane Hill Road, a 1.5-mile road beyond the Hurricane Ridge parking area, will be open. Obstruction Point Road will also be open to vehicles, but visitors should be prepared for an 8-mile gravel, narrow and winding mountain road with steep drop-offs. Trails from Obstruction Point Road may still be snow-covered.
Cyclists can use Hurricane Ridge Road once it reopens to the public regardless of the road closing to private vehicles.
Portable toilets will be located at picnic areas A and B. Cyclists can also find portable toilets at mileposts 9 and 12.
Once capacity is reached for the day, Hurricane Ridge Road will close to private vehicles. The road will most likely close to private vehicles by noon each day, but the time will vary depending on weather and day of week, NPS said.
Once visitors are in line to enter the Hurricane Ridge area, park staff, who will be patrolling the road, will be able to tell visitors whether vehicles will be allowed in or not, NPS added.
The park will monitor the entry system and make adjustments as needed, including to daily vehicle capacity.
Visitors are encouraged to use the Clallam Transit Shuttle to avoid long lines at the Heart O' the Hills Entrance Station. The shuttle will operate several runs a day, even if Hurricane Ridge Road is closed.
Additional road closures are likely once the fire investigation is complete and the cleanup process begins, NPS said.
NPS encourages visitors to check the weather forecast before visiting Hurricane Ridge, as indoor warming spaces and drinking water will not be available at the site.
The Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge was a two-story, 12,201 square-foot, historic structure built in 1952. The lodge, which housed exhibits, a gift shop and a small cafe, and the 17-mile road from Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge, had been closed since March 27 for a $10.8 million rehabilitation project that included interior and exterior improvements, weatherproofing and bringing the lodge into compliance with current codes and accessibility standards.
The road was expected to reopen by Memorial Day weekend, although construction was anticipated to last through spring 2024.
The fire came at a moment of upward momentum for Hurricane Ridge. In addition to the lodge's first renovation in more than two decades — it was remodeled in 1983 and 2000 — the Heart O' the Hills Campground at the base of the road is in the midst of a $3.1 million water and wastewater rehabilitation. Last year, Clallam Transit began operating three-times-daily $1 bus service from Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge seven days a week from June to October, allowing visitors to skip peak-season traffic jams. The park itself, meanwhile, has a new superintendent, Sula Jacobs, who came on the job in June.
