Entry will be free to state and national parks in honor of National Public Lands Day this coming Saturday.
No Discover Pass will be needed to visit state parks, which on the North Olympic Peninsula are Bogachiel near Forks, Dosewallips near Brinnon, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, Fort Townsend and Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Anderson Lake State Park near Chimacum and Sequim Bay near Sequim.
The Olympic National Park entrance fee of $25 per automobile, $15 per motorcycle and $10 per hiker or bicyclist will be waived at all park entrances.
At Olympic, it’s also Healthy Parks, Healthy People Day, “a day to experience the health benefits of spending time outdoors,” said Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman.
Special activities are planned at the park visitor center at 3002 Mount Angeles Road in Port Angeles, as well as at Lake Crescent and Kalaloch on the Pacific Coast.
Activities will include volunteer projects and healthy events.
“Anyone who volunteers can earn a free entry pass for another day in the park,” said Rachel Spector, Olympic National Park acting superintendent, “and anyone who also participates in two of the ‘Be Healthy’ activities will receive a stainless steel Olympic National Park water bottle.”
Volunteers must sign up at check-in stations and can volunteer for any amount of time to earn a free park pass. The pass is good for free entrance into the park for the volunteer and any accompanying passengers in a private vehicle.
Here is a list of activities planned in the national park.
Olympic National Park Visitor Center
All activities will begin at the tent on the visitor center front lawn.
• 9 a.m. to noon: Fall Cleanup — Volunteers can join the Friends of Olympic National Park for the annual fall cleanup of the grounds of Olympic National Park Visitor Center.
• 9 a.m. to noon: Herb Robert Removal — Stinky Bob’ is trying to take over the Peabody Creek forest. Volunteers can bring their gloves and help pull the invasive weed from the native forest.
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Walk the Peabody Creek Loop — The half-mile trail is dog-friendly and offers a short trek along a quiet woodland creek.
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Paint Your Impressions — “Studies show that simply looking at a forest can have positive health effects,” Maynes said. Visitors are invited to paint what they see in the forest and then take home their watercolor images.
Lake Crescent
All activities begin at the Storm King Ranger Station porch.
• 9 a.m. to noon: Storm King Scotch Broom Pull — Volunteers will help remove invasive plants.
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Walk to Marymere Falls — The walk to the falls is 1.8 miles through forest.
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Help a Healthy Planet — Participants can make their own reusable shopping bags to replace plastic and paper bags. All supplies will be provided.
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Salmon Run Obstacle Course — Participants will navigate the dams, logjams, fishing boats and other obstacles that salmon often encounter on their way to their spawning grounds.
Kalaloch
Activity begins at the Kalaloch Lodge Gazebo.
• 10 a.m. to noon: Beach Cleanup — Volunteers will meet a ranger for a two-hour foray onto the beach in search of marine debris. Work gloves and trash bags will be provided, or people can bring their own.
For more information about National Public Lands Day and Healthy Parks, Healthy People in Olympic National Park, visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/olym.
