Hiker Headlines: Road and Trail Openings, Hurricane Ridge, New Trail Funding

It’s July 6. Some roads and a trailhead have opened back up, and the Hurricane Ridge area is now allowing more private vehicles each day. Please also be aware of a couple of closures. And WTA is proud to have supported the Puget Sound to Pacific initiative to secure funding for the Great American Rail-Trail. Here’s some news you may have missed while out on trail this week.

Hikers can drive all the way to the trailhead to enjoy the hike to Cascade Pass now that the Cascade River Road is fully open. Photo by rain-or-shine-hike-hunter. 

Now open! Hikers can plan their summer hikes with these recent road and trailhead openings in mind: 

• Climber’s Bivouac is now open, it's the trailhead for the Ptarmigan Trail and Monitor Ridge route at Mount St. Helens. Note that the Monitor Ridge route has not yet been maintained this year, and expect snow. Permits to climb Mount St. Helens via the Monitor Ridge route can be found on Recreation.gov for the following month through November. 
• Forest Road 99 at Mount St. Helens to the Windy Ridge Interpretive site is back open. Fees are waived at sites along the road until facilities are back in service (estimated to be the week of July 12). Due to the FR 25 closure from a slide in June, visitors can still only access FR 99 from the north. However, the FR 25 closure is shorter now, with the north end of the closure near Elk Pass. This allows visitors coming from the north end of FR 25 to access the Boundary Trail via FR 25. 
• Cascade River Road in the North Cascades National Park has reopened to the trailhead for the season! Please keep in mind that the Johannesburg campground and Cascade Pass trailhead picnic area are closed because a food recently acquired improperly stored food. 

Hurricane Ridge access: The Hurricane Ridge private vehicle limit per day has increased from 315 to 345. As before, the first 175 vehicles at the Heart O’ the Hills entrance on Hurricane Ridge Road will be allowed in. The following 170 vehicles will be metered — please factor wait times into your trip to the area. Olympic National Park recommends taking the Clallam Transit shuttle to enter the park, which runs even if the road closes to private vehicles. Please note that the same private vehicle limitations apply to those entering the area to access Obstruction Point Road — however, those holding wilderness permits for the Obstruction Point area can enter even if Hurricane Ridge Road has closed to private vehicles for the day. 

Notable closures: Please be aware of the following closures when planning your outings this month:

• Due to increased fire risk, the trails on the east side of Brooks Memorial State Park are closed for public use until further notice. As we continue to make our way into the wildfire season, check that the areas you’re hoping to visit don’t have wildfire closures using WTA’s Hiking Guide and the Hike Finder Map’s wildfire filter. 
• Hart's Pass Road will be closed for approximately 5 days in July once the snow melts enough to allow for construction. The road will be gated and closed each day between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

New funding for the Great American Rail-Trail: WTA supported the Puget Sound to Pacific initiative in securing a RAISE grant of $16.1 million to complete the western 200 miles of the Great American Rail-Trail in Western Washington, which — when completed — will connect Washington to Maryland. The regional trail network will connect communities across Bainbridge Island, Kingston and Port Townsend to the Pacific Coast in La Push, providing healthy, low-stress access to open space and active transportation options.

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