Hurricane Hill has finally been reopened, at least for three days a week until the road is closed by snow. The trail is one of the most popular in the park, and it has shown a lot of wear. It is being rebuilt, widened, repaved and restored. For now, the Hurricane Hill road only runs to the second picnic area. The parking area at the usual trailhead is full of building materials for the trail work.
We got an early start. This was a good idea since just about every parking space was taken when we returned from our hike around noon. The hike was as beautiful as ever. One day we expect to see Mount Olympus itself covered in construction scaffolding, but, for now, the mountains are being left to their own devices. We took in some amazing views, admired a few late blooming flowers and the golden grasses and checked out the sap covered pine cones.
Check the park web site before you go. The trail is only open three days a week (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), but it is well worth the effort.
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A common sight in 2018 - road closed |
Hurricane Hill Trail widened |
The new trail with have a lot of stone work to encourage people to stay on the trail. |
The Olympic Mountains seen from Hurricane Hill Trail |
Autumn color |
More autumn color |
Even more autumn color |
Good grief, even more autumn color |
Fields of gold |
Fields of gold with distant mountains |
More fields of gold, more mountains |
Variation on a theme |
One of the late harebells |
Pine cones |
More pine cones |
Autumn color by the trail |
Autumn color and more stones for the trail work |