OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Entrance fees will be waived Saturday and a special breakfast and picnic offered to the public to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the national park that dominates the North Olympic Peninsula.
It was June 29, 1938, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill establishing Olympic National Park.
To celebrate, the park will waive entrance fees, and park concessionaire Aramark will host events at Lake Crescent Lodge off U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles and a picnic lunch at Log Cabin Resort on East Beach Road, also off Highway 101.
The day will begin with a VIP breakfast to commemorate the start of Roosevelt’s expedition at Lake Crescent Lodge from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Dignitaries in attendance will include Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum, who will discuss ongoing efforts to preserve the park.
The lodge also will display historical memorabilia, and will offer lavender lemonade and cake between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Following breakfast, a free community barbecue is planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Log Cabin Resort on the east side of Lake Crescent, the “sunny side of the lake.”
Hamburgers, hot dogs and sodas donated by Ed Bedford of Port Angeles will be provided.
A snow cone machine and lawn games will be set up.
Park representatives will discuss this summer’s interpretive programs and sustainable food programs, while visitors can look over recent renovations to the resort.
Changes include new campsites, paddleboards, canoes, kayaks and a freshened interior of the main lodge.
For more information about the park’s history, visit www.nps.gov/olym.
The public can add photos, videos or stories to the park’s online memory book at www.olympicpark75th.com.
For a complete list of locations and times of numerous walks and evening talks at locations throughout ONP, visit http://tinyurl.com/onp-events.
