Happy 100th Birthday National Parks!

Transcript below:

Welcome to the Adventure Dispatch for the week of August 19th to August 26th, 2016 for Olympic National Park. This week’s information is presented by the 2017 Olympic Peninsula Impressions Calendar, available for purchase at outdoor-society.com. The new poster calendar ‘OLYMPIC PENINSULA IMPRESSIONS: 2017‘ will be available in late September, with pre-orders going on now. Featuring Twelve stunning photographs from some of our favorite destinations across the Olympic Peninsula, you are sure to be inspired and want explore the wilderness of Olympic.

Anyone else wondering just how hot it can get?

• To end the week, we sure have a scorcher on our hands, with highs in the rainforest region of Olympic National Park getting to nearly 100 degrees. Think about that… an area that gets 14 feet of rain a year is seeing temperatures in the mid to high 90s, shattering records. Crazy times for a summer that we thought would never arrive.
• While the week may have ended with insanely warm weather, this coming week promises to be a bit more sane and controlled. At least, that is what the long term forecast is saying. Starting along the northern stretches of Olympic National Park around Port Angeles, the hot temps will diminish, returning to a much more tolerable sunny stretch of weather. Friday and Saturday will be in the 80s or warmer, but Sunday will see a high of just 69 degrees and sun. The rest of the week is going to be clear, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
• Out along the coast and in the rainforests of Olympic, the weather won’t be as brutal as how last week ended. Instead it mirror Port Angeles, even seeing some clouds rolling in on Sunday Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week will be clear with highs in the 70s with a 7% chance of rain. This is a great time to hit the coast before summer ends, as the nighttime temperatures will be in the 50s.
• Rounding out the forecast out along Hood Canal, the weekend will start off blisteringly warm, with highs hitting the mid 90s. Luckily, the cooling seen at Port Angeles and in Forks will hit the Hood Canal region, dropping the highs to the high 70s by Sunday and fluctuating between the 70s and 80s the rest of the week. Expect a few clouds if you are heading out on Monday.

For those driving to Olympic, keep in mind that the only road closures in Olympic are located out along the Elwha River. The project was started on Monday, July 25 to fix the Olympic Hot Springs road, which was severely damaged last winter as record rainfall led to severe washouts that eroded and damaging the road. The repairs, according the the ONP, will take about eight weeks. During this time, the road to and the trails in Elwha region will be closed to all car and pedestrian access.

• Every other Olympic National Park road is currently open and should remain that way all week. The fires currently burning in Olympic may occasionally close the Obstruction Point Road out of Hurricane Ridge, as smoke may be thick. Otherwise, you are good to go. Keep in mind that the Graves Creek Road in the Quinault Region is washed out 2 miles from the Graves Creek Campground. RVs and large cars are not recommended on the road to the washout because the turnaround spot is pretty small.
• Remember that the Dosewallips Road out along the Hood Canal is permanently closed and has been for over a decade. The area is still accessible by foot or bike.

If you plan on camping in Olympic this week, good news. All of the campgrounds in Olympic National Park that will open this year are now open. Remember, only the Sol Duc and Kalaloch campgrounds take reservations and the other campgrounds have been filling up fast. Every other campground is first come, first serve, so try and arrive early in the morning for your best chance of getting a spot. The only campground closures in Olympic are along the Elwha River, due to the washouts last winter. Dosewallips and Graves Creek campgrounds are also open, but are only accessible as walk-in campgrounds.

For those visiting Olympic this week, the Outdoor Society’s “Trail of the Week” is going to be skipped, as hundreds of destinations can found in our Guidebooks, purchased at outdoor-society.com. Instead, we will once again remind you to pre-order your OLYMPIC PENINSULA IMPRESSIONS: 2017 calendar. We have sold out every other year and want to make sure you get one or ten for your home, office, bathroom, attic and anywhere else that needs the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula.

This week’s events around Olympic National Park are important. The best announcement we have is that from August 25th to August 28th, entry to Olympic and all National Parks is free! Hooray!

On August 25th, the National Park Service turns 100 years old!! Happy birthday, National Parks! To celebrate, there are numerous events to take park in throughout the National Park Service. In Olympic, you can head to Kalaloch on Saturday, August 20, 2016 and compete in the Centennial Olympics. Drop by the Kalaloch Ranger Station for an afternoon of games and activities. The event starts at 1pm and ends at 4pm and is free!

On Wednesday, August 24th, enjoy watercolor painting events at the Storm King Ranger Station on Lake Crescent. Starting at 11am and ending at 4pm, Storm King Ranger Station becomes an art studio for the day. Come find inspiration and reflect on the beauty of Lake Crescent’s serene surroundings.

Scheduled for August 21 through 28, Paint the Peninsula will feature 25 specially selected plein air artists who will paint outdoors over the week to capture the Peninsula’s natural beauty.

On August 23, all 25 artists will paint within the boundaries of Olympic National Park. During the competition’s remaining days, artists will have the option to paint within the park or at another outdoor location of their choosing. On August 24, as part of the park’s Centennial celebrations, artists will present demonstrations at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, Storm King Ranger Station and Lake Crescent Lodge at Lake Crescent. Additional demonstrations will be offered throughout the day on August 25 at Storm King Ranger Station and Lake Crescent Lodge. More information about these in-park demonstrations can be found at http://www.paintthepeninsula.org/2016-schedule-of-events.html.

With that, this concludes this week’s Adventure Dispatch. I would like to wish the National Park Service a very happy birthday and thank them for changing my life and inspiring me to fight to protect our public lands and the environment. I’d be lost without you, National Parks.

Finally, if you have any questions, please reach out to us on Twitter and check our website for more info. This is Douglas saying, “Thanks for tuning in and we will catch you next week, same time, same place.”