Hiker Headlines: Trails & Ales, Openings and Closures, Mount St. Helens Road Closure

It’s May 18. Join WTA at our Trails & Ales event in Ellensburg next week! Some trails and roads are reopening after the winter season, including Ape Cave and Stevens Canyon Road. Be aware of some temporary trail and vehicle access closures. And, a large landslide has resulted in a closure in part of the road to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Here’s some news you may have missed while out on trail this week.

The Snoqualmie Tunnel on the Palouse to Cascades Trail has reopened after a snowy winter. Photo by Dave Schuba.

Join us for Trails & Ales: WTA is celebrating hikers and trails in Ellensburg next Thursday with the return of our Trails & Ales event series. Join us on May 25 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Iron Horse Brewery Taproom to toast to trails and learn about exciting events coming up in Central Washington. Registration is free, but be sure to RSVP!

Open for the season: With snow melting out and the days getting longer, some roads and trails are opening back up.

• Ape Cave opens today for the season. In order to protect the delicate cave ecosystem, visitors are required to have one timed reservation per vehicle to visit, which can be obtained at Recreation.gov.
• Snoqualmie Tunnel along the Palouse to Cascades Trail opened earlier this week — the tunnel’s reopening was delayed due to snow. 
• A portion of Stevens Canyon Road in Mount Rainier National Park will reopen tomorrow, May 19 — from Paradise Road to the Bench and Snow Lakes trailhead. The section of the road still closed is estimated to reopen on Memorial Day weekend with weekend access only due to construction. 
• The North Cascades National Park Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is reopening tomorrow, May 19. Visitors to the park can make walk-up backcountry camping reservations and speak to rangers at the center. 

Trail and vehicle access closures: Be aware of some road and trail closures as well.

• Little Wenatchee Road (Forest Service Road 6500) will be closed for the entire season at the junction with FS-6700, about 1.5 miles before the Soda Springs campground. Check the closure map for more information on which trailheads and campgrounds will be inaccessible.
• The Poo Poo Point trailhead and parking lot will be temporarily closed for maintenance from 5-10 a.m. on Friday, May 19.
• The Wildside Trail on Cougar Mountain will be closed for boardwalk repairs this weekend, and will reopen on Monday, May 22.
• Vehicle access to Harry Osborne State Forest has been temporarily closed. The forest can still be accessed by foot. 

Landslide leads to bridge washout: The road to the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mount St. Helens National Monument is closed past milepost 43, near the Science and Learning Center at Clearwater, due to a large landslide. Because of the amount of damage to the highway, the Washington State Department of Transportation does not currently know when the road can be reopened.

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