[Hikerdood]

Never thought it would this bad. https://komonews.com/news/local/public-access-to-olympics-lake-cushman-staircase-closed-due-to-overcrowding

[Osguthoj]

This is crazy. 20 years ago I used to go there quite often and crowds were light. I would have never guessed.... I love the scenery of WA, but I guess the Relative solitude of yesteryears are no more.

[Ski]

Friday August 21, 2020 10:15 PDT USDA Forest Service - Olympic National Forest News Release: Closure of Forest Roads 24 and 2451 URL for closure notice HERE Mason County, Washington, August 20, 2020 - For the safety and health of the public, employees, and volunteers, the section Forest Roads 24 and 2451 that provide public access to Lake Cushman, several trails, day- use sites, and the Staircase entrance of the Olympic National Park (Park) will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians starting August 22, 2020. Recent increased visitation along the narrow road corridor has far exceeded capacity and led to gridlock, resulting in hazardous conditions for the public, the Park and Forest Service staff. Overflow of vehicles prevented emergency response vehicles and personnel from responding to recent requests for help. Overuse of the area has also led to resource damage along the corridor. “The extreme numbers of people recreating at Lake Cushman are creating unsafe conditions and degrading the experience for everyone. No one wants to be stuck in a 6-mile long traffic jam on a narrow, gravel road with no way to turn around,” said District Ranger, Yewah Lau. According to Lau, the area will be closed and there will be no public access to Lake Cushman. Access to that area, however, will be allowed for residents who live beyond the road closure, emergency response personnel and administrative staff. The closure of the road, associated day-use sites and trailheads will continue until the weather cools and visitation returns to a manageable level. Throughout the country, outdoor recreation sites on public lands have experienced highly increased visitation leading to overcrowding, overparking, excessive trash and scattered human waste this summer. This comes during a time of limited Forest Service staffing to keep up with cleaning and trash pick-up. “This was a hard decision to make, but necessary for the health and safety of visitors and staff. I hope people can discover other less crowded areas to enjoy,” said Lau. This decision was made in cooperation with the National Park Service, Mason County, Tacoma Power, Washington State Patrol, the Skokomish Tribe, and other local partners. During the increased visitation on public lands, the Forest Service recommends people be prepared for overcrowding and prepare a Plan B. To find out about local conditions, please visit websites and social media of those recreation areas. ----------------------- Olympic National Park - Temporary Closure of Staircase area Olympic National Park will begin closing the Staircase area Friday, August 21, 2020 in preparation for the closure of Forest Road 24/2451. Forest Road 24 provides the only vehicle access to the national park facilities at Staircase.Staircase Campground will close at checkout time today to new registrations. Wilderness Information Center staff are working to contact all current backpacking permit holders and those with upcoming reservations affected by the closure. Current park alerts and conditions are available on the park website at nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/conditions.htm. - Olympic National Forest - Olympic National Park -

[BigBrunyon]

Too many cushman pics upon the WAHC feeds of late?! Otherwise I'm thinkin this might be compellin' ev'dence that there may exist an underground/illegal/dark web type WAHC that is behind these enormous crowds.

[ale_capone]

Tik tok made them do it.

[xrp]

[contour5]

I've seen a lot of crowdy-ness lately. The line-up at Marblemount ranger station is unreal. Sign says open at 7:00, but when I arrived at 6:15 I was already the 27th person in line. And you better know where you're going!. Seriously, I wish I had video...

[80skeys]

I hope this is not the case at the Sol Duc Trailhead? I've got a trip coming up there soon. Have the crowds started to thin out?

[tinman]

I live in Forks, still lots of peoples coming this way. I don't think they will thin out until after the holiday, and even then, as long as the weather is good, I don't expect it to drop as much as it usually does, what with remote learning, working, etc. I drove up the Hoh road last Thursday and every turnout along the county road to the Park Boundary had someone camping in it, Hoh Campground full.

[Gregory]

[80skeys]

I just talked to the Parks service in Olympic today, asking about how crowded things were, and they said it's not bad. I wanted to make sure we will be able to park at the trailhead and also that our campsite reservations within the Park are still going to guarantee that we have spots to camp at, and they said there's no problem with either of those.

[treeswarper]

And I went trailer camping about 50 miles away from here in Okanogan County. Got to the lake on Tuesday and expected it to be crowded. Nope. 3 campsites being used out of 25. I got one near the lake and one other camper was in view. I think there were 6 or so sites filled when I left this morning. Two different worlds. I expect it really will be full starting tomorrow.