PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Hurricane Ridge Road reopened to public visitors Tuesday, following a fire in May that destroyed a popular visitor center destination.
Visitors enjoyed viewpoints and hikes with gorgeous weather. The road will remain open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with some limitations on previous access. Olympic National Park will limit the road to 315 vehicles a day for now, with plans to ramp up later; 175 will be allowed in the parking lot at a time, to account for restroom access changes.
Tom and Debbie Bulling were among some of those first visitors, getting up early to see the hikes and viewpoints on the final day of their trip to the Olympic Peninsula.
"We got here really early, it's our last day, we wanted to get up and see it, and it's worth it," they said. "It's so high, you get to drive up this far, it's clear, you can see the glaciers, you can see Mt. Olympus, I mean it's just fantastic."
"Be kind to the rangers," National Park Public Information Officer Amos Almy said. "They're gonna be delivering some bad news to folks and it's not fun so just be kind and patient to them - they want you to have a good time."
The fire was reported in the late afternoon on May 7, when a law enforcement ranger on patrol saw the site was fully engulfed in flames. Port Angeles and Clallam County Fire District 2 responded, but by the time crews arrived, the building had collapsed to its foundation.
The building had housed interpretive exhibits, a gift shop and a small café, and in the winter snowshoes and skis would be rented. The building had been cleared out for renovation work, so no one was there at the time. The cause is still under investigation.