Forks Washington on the Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic National Park has made several announcements that may be of interest to visitors to the Olympic Peninsula this summer.
First of all, we like the sound of these Fee-Free Weekends at the park. Entrance fees (only) will be waived during the weekends of July 18-19 and August 15-16 this year. The fee is usually $15 per vehicle (or $5 per person on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.). So, that’s one more reason to visit ONP this summer!

According to this post from Backpacker.com’s blog, The Daily Dirt, a reported 30% increase in visitors to the Olympic National Park can be attributed to Twilight fans. As they put it, the increase is due to fans who are “there to immerse themselves in the Twilight landscape (and, presumably, to catch a glimpse of a vampire of their very own).” Whether or not this is really true (frankly, we’re still seeing the same ole crusty hikers we’ve always seen out there . . .) the post is a good read, with quotes from one of our favorite local rangers, Jon Preston. We’re all over Jon’s idea of a nature program on bloodsuckers! You’re not going to find forests more impressive than those found in the Olympic National Park anywhere–so whether your goal is to “see what Bella saw,” or you just want to see, um, “real” stuff like black bears, mountain goats and eagles in their natural habitat, be sure to check out this awesome park when you’re visiting Forks and the West End.