Whiskey Bend Road at Olympic National Park has reopened. The 4.5-mile road connects Olympic Hot Springs Road to the Whiskey Bend trailhead.
While the road is open again to driving and trailhead access, we remind visitors that all areas west and downhill of the road remain closed for public safety, said Superintendent Karen Gustin.
Areas west and downhill of the Whiskey Bend Road are closed due to dam removal activities and quickly changing sediment conditions around Lake Mills.
The road had been closed to vehicles since December 2010, when winter storms caused extensive damage. During an assessment of the damage, road engineers discovered large voids where log cribbing beneath the road had eroded away, seriously compromising the road’s stability and motorists’ safety.
December visitation
Mount Rainier
December 2011: 20,166
December 2010: 20,509
Difference: -1.7 percent
2011 total: 1,038,228
2010 total: 1,191,751
Difference: -12.9 percent
The delayed opening of the snowplay area at Paradise likely kept December’s visitation below last year’s total for the same month. The park traditionally tries to open the area by the third Saturday of December. But a lack of snow postponed the opening until Dec. 31. Weather issues seemed to plague the park much of the year, leading to the 12.9 percent decline in recreational visits for the year. The annual total is the lowest in at least 10 years, surpassing even 2006 and 2007 when the park was closed by flooding. While park visitation was down by double digits, overnight stays at the park were down just 5.9 percent. According to the park, there were 162,685 in 2011, down from 172,838 in 2010.
Olympic
December 2011: 78,846
December 2010: 65,092
Difference: 21.1 percent
2011 total: 2,961,302
2010 total: 2,844,563
Difference: 4.1 percent
The decent weather for much of December apparently attracted a lot of people to the Kalaloch area, boosting recreation visits there 396 percent from December 2010. That accounts for almost the entire increase for the month. Visitation was strong throughout the year, especially from May-October.
Jeffrey P. Mayor, jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com
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