Olympic Hot Springs Road closes south of Altair on Aug. 1

Published 5:55 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The Elwha Valley’s Olympic Hot Springs Road will close to all public access at a point just south of the Altair campground on Monday, Aug. 1.

A gate has been installed and will be locked on Aug. 1 in order to allow U.S. Bureau of Reclamation employees to begin the six-week process of decommissioning the Glines Canyon Dam. Following decommissioning, Barnard Construction, Inc. will assume control of the Glines Canyon area and prepare the site for dam removal work to begin this September.

The closure of Olympic Hot Springs Road south of Altair campground will last for the duration of dam removal.

Access to other areas in the Elwha Valley will not be affected by this road closure.

Effective Aug. 1, the Glines Canyon Dam, Lake Mills, Olympic Hot Springs and the Boulder Creek trail and campground will no longer be accessible via Olympic Hot Springs Road.

Olympic Hot Springs will be inaccessible from the Elwha Valley. Hikers interested in visiting the Olympic Hot Springs during the three-year dam removal project may reach the springs by hiking 14 miles from the Sol Duc Valley via Appleton Pass.

For updated information, visit Olympic National Park’s website at nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/current-conditions.htm.