PORT ANGELES — Olympic National Park visitation was up 4.1 percent in 2011 over 2010, park figures show.
The national park had 2,961,302 visitors in 2011. In 2010, the total was 2,844,563.
Visitation was strong throughout the year, especially from May through October.
Good weather for much of December apparently attracted many visitors to the
national park’s Kalaloch coastal area.
Visitation at Kalaloch was up 396 percent from December 2010 and is attributed to boosting the park’s overall recreation visits for the month by 22 percent.
Total visits in December were 78,846. In December 2010, visits totaled 65,092.
Earlier his month, the park’s Whiskey Bend Road was reopened.
The 4.5-mile road connects Olympic Hot Springs Road to the Whiskey Bend trailhead.
While the road is open again to driving and trailhead access, areas west and downhill of the Whiskey Bend Road are closed due to dam removal activities and quickly changing sediment conditions around Lake Mills.
The road had been closed to vehicles since December 2010 when winter storms caused extensive damage.
During an assessment of the damage, road engineers discovered large voids where log cribbing beneath the road had eroded away, seriously compromising the road’s stability and motorists’ safety.
