What makes olympic national park special

Day to day management is directed by the Park Superintendent. Management goals and objectives for the property have been developed through a General Management Plan, which has been supplemented in recent years with site-specific planning exercises as well as numerous plans for specific issues and resources.

The National Park Service works closely with other land and water management agencies in larger North Pacific region to protect shared resources. One example is the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative, which brings together science and resource management to inform climate adaptation strategies to address climate change and other stressors within this ecological region. Mountain goats Oreamnos americanus , introduced to the property in the s, may be causing significant changes in the natural ecosystem.

Research has suggested that the mountain goats have reduced plant cover, increased erosion, and shifted plant-community dominants toward more resistant or less palatable species; they have been recorded feeding on at least three of the endemic plants, and some concern has been expressed that these species may be endangered by the mountain goat. Habitat loss outside the park also appears to be impacting other species within the park such as the endangered marbled murrelet and the near threatened northern spotted owl.

In the longer term, climate change may impact the ranges of dominant plant species, altering habitat and threatening endemic species in the park. The Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project is the second largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of the National Park Service after the Everglades. With the removal of the 64 meter Glines Canyon Dam and the 33 meter Elwha Dam, along with the draining of their reservoirs, the park is now revegetating the slopes and river bottoms to prevent erosion and accelerate ecological recovery.

The primary purpose of this project is to restore anadromous stocks of Pacific Salmon and Steelhead to the Elwha River , which had been denied access to the upper km of river habitat for more than 95 years by these dams. In Olympic National Park, these vital signs include water quality, climate, landscape dynamics, intertidal ecosystems, landbird populations, and others.

About us. Special themes. Major programmes. For the Press. Help preserve sites now! Join the , Members. Search Advanced. Hikers have plenty of choices, from the short, flat Big Meadow Loop a quarter mile to challenging treks like the 8-mile Wolf Creek Trail to Whiskey Bend.

During winter, snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing take over the Hurricane equipment rentals are available at the gift shop. Heading west from Port Angeles, Highway makes a beeline for blue-green Lake Crescent , renowned for both its beauty and indigenous trout species.

Get out on the water with a rental boat from Fairholme Store, hike or bike the north shore via the The valley is also renowned for its ancient forest, with many of the towering trees more than years old. More than half of all U. Glacier-climbing skills are necessary to reach the peak, but day hikers can reach the base of Blue Glacier via the mile Hoh River Trail. The Howards suggest starting with the educational Quinault Rain Forest Nature Loop, a half-mile trail through this textbook example of a temperate rain forest.

Continue hiking on the various connecting trails or keep it mellow with a mile drive around the exceptionally scenic lake. Separated from the rest of the park by private and tribal lands, Kalaloch area protects 65 miles of a wild Pacific coast carved by waves and tidal action.

Riptides and floating logs inhibit swimming or surfing in these waters. The shoreline is more suited to long walks, exploring tide pools, and scouting for the harbor seals, porpoises, sea otters, and other local denizens.

Check with the Park Service for more info. All rights reserved. The pandemic has disrupted travel to national parks and wilderness areas. You can also search for parks by state. Planning a visit to a nearby park? Off-season things to do. This article was updated on August 12, ; a version of this text originally appeared in the National Geographic book Parks, Ideas.

Complete with some of the most picturesque sea-stacks in the world, these beaches make for great storm watching on rainy days and amazing hiking on sunny days. Depending on the season, whales, both gray and Orca, are visible from every beach. Whether you are looking for a day hike, a backpacking trip, or an amazing place to catch the sunrise, few places compare to the Pacific Coast of Olympic National Park.

Technically, the western edge of Olympic National Park is one rainforest, but locals have broken these rainy, temperate forests into three distinct rainforests; the Hoh, Queets, and Quinault. The Hoh Rainforest is the most famous, with moss-covered trees, short and flat hiking trails, and over inches of rain falling annually. Bobcat, bear and elk can be seen along creeks, gorging themselves on salmon who've returned to their spawning grounds upstream.

For the more adventurous, the Hoh Rainforest is where you can summit the tallest peak in the park, Mount Olympus. The Queets rainforest is the most remote and less visited rainforest region in Olympic National Park. With up to inches of rain, the Queets Rainforest is where every drop of rain falls before the clouds off the Pacific Ocean rise of the mighty Mount Olympus. If you want to be alone in a rainforest, this is where you must go. The Quinault Rainforest is one of the classic destinations for tourists looking to get away from the more popular Hoh Rainforest region.

Olympic National Park consists of water, so the rivers, lakes and waterfalls of the region serve as the life-force. High alpine lakes, like Lake of the Angels and the Seven Lakes Basin region are sought after hiking and backpacking destinations. Lake Crescent, near to great hiking, kayaking and camping is the second deepest lake in Washington State, estimated to be over 1, feet deep in places.

The most famous rivers of the region are the Hoh, the Elwha, the Quinault and the Queets, but many smaller rivers also support life. With a healthy salmon population, the rivers are popular with anglers of all abilities, but fishing in the park is not allowed.