PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula Trails Coalition is working to expand the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Coalition President Rich James told the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that some exciting developments are happening with the trail, including a 4-mile section opening in 2026 in Jefferson County near Anderson Lake.
“It’s just a beautiful section of trail,” James said. “It turned out looking like a work of art.”
The Peninsula Trails Coalition (PTC) also is working to expand the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) in the West End of Clallam County near Forks.
“We’ll have a new bridge out there, but it’s probably a few years off,” James said. “And it looks like the county is very close to getting the right-of-way between Forks and La Push.”
The PTC is emphasizing land acquisition so it can expand the trail. State and federal agencies have been helpful with grants and other funding for the trail when the coalition already has the land to build on, James said.
James presented to the chamber with the new PTC executive director, Ann Livingston.
Livingston moved to the Olympic Peninsula last month and has been working for the PTC since October, she said.
“The love of the community for the ODT drew me to the PTC,” Livingston said.
The ODT is currently 135 miles, but the coalition is looking to expand it, likely another 150 miles. The trail will eventually connect to the Great American Rail Trail, which starts in Washington, D.C., Livingston said.
The PTC has supported and been a steward of the ODT and broader trail system for 37 years, and it is a community-led, not-for-profit organization.
Livingston said the PTC is partnering with other organizations to build, maintain and promote the ODT and the broader trail system.
As executive director, Livingston is the first full-time, paid staffer the historically volunteer-led and operated PTC has had. She said adding more professional staff is a goal for the future.
During the presentation, Livingston shared some data about trail use. She said trail users vary from near and far, including from 84 cities across Washington state, 38 other states and 10 countries. The trail counter at Hollywood Beach registered 155,000 trips from Jan. 1 to Oct. 6 this year.
The lodging impacts from trail use for 2024 include that 116,356 people used the trail that year. Of those, 54,687, or 47 percent, came from out of town. Those out-of-town trail users stayed in the county mostly by camping or using RVs (29 percent) or by staying in hotels or motels (27 percent).
The Great American Rail Trail WA estimates the economic impacts of the trail for the state will be $3.2 million in tax revenue, $19.4 million in GDP and $24.9 million in visitor spending.
The next steps for the PTC when it comes to the ODT are to fill in the gaps of the trail, Livingston said. The coalition also plans to support trail upgrades and enhancements, continue to maintain the trail, work on trail advisories and notices, increase promotion of the trail and work on building partnerships with jurisdictions such as tribes and agencies, nonprofits, economic development agencies and businesses.
“We are lucky enough to have deep and long partnerships,” Livingston said.
The PTC is looking for increased support for the trail and aims to grow the team, she said. The coalition also is looking to increase fundraising to support its work through revamped sponsorship programs, Lodging Tax Advisory Committees, philanthropic endeavors and donor programs.
The public can get involved with the PTC by providing maps for the ODT and other trails at their businesses, promoting the trails, increasing awareness of food, retail and other options available along the trail and sponsorships.
During questions from the audience, Livingston said the best way for people to get information on how to navigate the ODT is to find the maps available online at olympicdiscoverytrail.org or to find a paper copy of the map, to utilize the PTC Facebook page for trail condition posts and to email the PTC for more information.
One chamber member asked about the use of bikes, both motorized and not, on the trail and how that affects safety for pedestrians. The PTC does not enforce rules on the trail, Livingston said, but it does provide some signage about yielding and works with jurisdictions on enforcement.
“The county has generally accepted 15 mph as the maximum speed for the trail,” James said. “We need to get signs up and users need to remember that the trail is bidirectional, so you really only have the right to occupy half of the trail with your whole group.”
Another chamber member asked if there are plans to add lights to the trail, but James said since so much of the trail is rural, there are no plans to do that. He suggested trail users come with personal lighting systems.
For more information, call Livingston at 720-443-0777 or email ann@olympicdiscoverytrail.org.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
