Hoh Rain Forest Road Closure Risk: Urgent Funding Needed

If you've ever taken the road to the Hoh Rain Forest in the Olympics, you know how spectacular it is!

My son Brenden and I toured the Olympics a few years back and have some of my most fondest memories from being there.

Heavy rains in December washed out the only road accessing part of the Upper Hoh Road, which is the only way to access the rainforest's trailheads, campgrounds, and visitor center by car.

Thousands of tourists from all over visit the Hoh Rain Forest each year, bringing in tourist dollars to the communities and the state of Washington.

Sources say it is unlikely, they will receive the funds to have the streets fixed for drivers by summer.

If funding is approved sometime in April, which is what they are hoping, it wouldn't take long to fix the roads for summer visitors.

But numerous emails and phone calls have thus far not proven to be successful in getting that ball rolling according to Eric Kuzma, the county's assistant public works director.

Washington State officials have been diligently working towards getting funding for the project before they have to refund tourists for their camping trips.

If the sole access road to the rainforest isn't repaired soon, it could force thousands of would-be campers and hikers to cancel their summer plans, while hurting the economies of nearby communities.

About 460,000 people visited the Hoh area of Olympic National Park last year, according to the National Park Service.

If you have reservations for camping this year in the Hoh Rain Forest, you may want to contact the National Parks Service to check the status of closure, as some people have reportedly already been notified of the closure and will need to cancel right away for a refund.