OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Although Hurricane Ridge will be closed on Christmas, it will offer activities the Monday afterward, weather permitting.
Unless storms close it, the 17-mile Hurricane Ridge Road from Port Angeles is open daily 9 a.m. to dusk every day but Christmas Day.
The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center — which has restrooms, exhibits, a movie and a warming area — is open when the road is.
The snack bar and ski shop, which offers ski and snowshoe rentals, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day but Christmas through Jan. 2
The winter season’s ranger-led 90-minute snowshoe walks at Hurricane Ridge are available at 2 p.m. today, Saturday and Monday.
People should register at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center information desk 30 minutes before the scheduled walk.
Space is limited. A suggested $5 donation from each participant helps the park repair and replace snowshoes.
Group snowshoe walks will be provided the same days at 10:30 a.m.
Reservations are available by phoning 360-565-3136.
The downhill ski and snowboard area will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Monday.
Tubing and sliding are permitted only for children 8 and younger at the Small Children’s Snowplay Area just west of the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center.
All vehicles, including four-wheel-drive vehicles, must carry tire chains when traveling above the Heart o’ the Hills entrance station in the winter.
All Points Charters & Tours provides twice-daily van service from downtown Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge from Wednesdays through Sundays, except Christmas.
Shuttle vans leave the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center on Railroad Avenue at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and will pick up passengers at the Vern Burton Community Center at 9:05 a.m. and 1:05 p.m. before the 45-minute drive to Hurricane Ridge.
Vans leave Hurricane Ridge at about 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The round-trip fare is $20 per person. Fares do not include park entrance fees.
To reserve a spot on a van, phone 360-460-7131 or email tours@goallpoints.com.
Park entrance fees are collected at the Heart O’ the Hills entrance station.
Fees are $5 per individual or $15 for a seven-day entrance pass for a vehicle.
The Olympic National Park Annual Pass, good for one year, costs $30.
For more information, phone 360-565-3100 or 360-565-3130, or visit www.hurricaneridge.com.
Road and weather condition updates are posted at www.nps.gov/olym or by phoning the park’s road and weather hotline at 360-565-3131.
