OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Low weekday visitation at Hurricane Ridge over the past two winters has prompted the National Park Service to pull the plug on an experiment to provide weekday access to the mile-high ski area south of Port Angeles.
Beginning late next month, Hurricane Ridge Road will be open — weather permitting — only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, as it was before the attempt at opening winter weekdays during 2011 and 2012.
The road still will be open daily in the spring, summer and early fall.
Olympic National Park announced Tuesday that the experiment partly subsidized by Port Angeles, Sequim and Clallam County was unsuccessful.
Winter weekday visitation was just 19 percent of the five-year average for weekend visits, park officials said.
“Despite the best efforts of our local community, Olympic National Park employees and National Park Service staff in Washington, D.C., weekday winter access to Hurricane Ridge did not lead to a sufficient increase in visitors,” said Todd Suess, Olympic National Park acting superintendent.
“Unfortunately, given the fiscal realities of today, we cannot justify the use of over $325,000 in community donations and taxpayer money to maintain weekday winter access to Hurricane Ridge Road for a relatively small number of people.”
In 2010, Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd and other civic leaders lobbied the federal government for a two-year, $250,000-per-year grant to plow Hurricane Ridge Road on weekdays.
She worked with U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, and National Park Service Comptroller Bruce Sheaffer to make it happen.
Kidd spearheaded a vigorous community fundraising campaign to come up with the required $75,000 per-year match.
The city of Port Angeles and Clallam County each contributed $25,000 per year, and the city of Sequim kicked in $5,000 per year.
Kidd on Wednesday said she was “very disappointed” but appreciated the opportunity to have daily winter access for two years.
She said Sheaffer had warned of further cuts to the National Park Service budget, which has seen a 5 percent reduction for each of the past three years.
“They’re in an economic struggle right now because they’re facing cost cuts,” Kidd said.
“I think we pushed it as far as we could, but with the economy changing, I think our window of opportunity is closed.
“If I ever find another opportunity, I promise I’ll go for it, but right now I don’t see it happening.”
Olympic National Park used the trial period to evaluate the economic impacts of keeping the 17-mile road open daily in the winter.
Park staff established a benchmark for the trial period, aiming for an average winter weekday visitation of at least 45 percent of the five-year average for weekends.
“Although we and our community partners joined forces to promote awareness and interest in weekday visits to Hurricane Ridge, we did not reach our 45 percent benchmark,” Suess said of the 19 percent result.
Other contributions for the winter of 2011-2012 were: $5,670 from the Port Angeles Winter Ski Club, $2,500 from 7 Cedars Casino, $2,500 from the Port Angeles Business Association, $3,000 from the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Committee, $1,000 from Bed and Breakfast Association, $2,000 from CPI, $500 from Black Ball Ferry Line, $500 from the Red Lion Hotel, $200 from Sound Community Bank and $100 from Michael’s Restaurant & Steak House.
The rest was raised through door-to-door fundraising and numerous parties and dinners.
Most park roads, including those leading to the West End rain forests and coastline, stay open year-round.
At 5,242 feet above sea level, the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center gets an average annual snowfall of about 400 inches.
“Keeping Hurricane Ridge Road open daily through the winter is a very different task than providing daily access to the park’s low elevation roads, and is significantly more costly and difficult,” Suess said.
Weather permitting, Hurricane Ridge Road will be open this winter Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to dusk.
It will also be kept open during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, plus Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
