FORKS — Good news for Olympic National Park visitors who head to the West End on weekends this spring and summer: The Forks Park and Forest Visitor Information Station will remain open.
Park officials announced Friday the station will be staffed from Fridays through Sundays throughout the spring and summer, amending an earlier decision to shutter the station because of budget constraints.
“We’re doing our best to use the resources we have as best we can, and to provide as many visitor services as we can,” said Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman.
The Forks station, housed in the Forks Transit Center, is operated jointly by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to provide information on trails and facilities on the west end of the park.
Last year, the station was open seven days a week. Now it is open five days a week.
Starting in April, it will be open only three days a week, Maynes said.
Forks Mayor Nedra Reed said the curtailed hours deliver a blow to the Forks community.
“Truly, truly, I understand where (Park Superintendent Bill) Laitner is coming from, but this just isn’t acceptable — not to us, anyway,” Reed said.
Earlier this month, Laitner announced the Forks station would be closed from April 1 through the summer to provide staffing for the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center, southeast of Forks.
That decision drew an outcry from Forks community leaders.
