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Elwha Ranger Station

Buildings and structures in Clallam County, WashingtonCivilian Conservation Corps in Washington (state)Geographic coordinate listsHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)Lists of coordinates
NRHP infobox with nocatNational Register of Historic Places in Clallam County, WashingtonNational Register of Historic Places in Olympic National ParkPark buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)Ranger stations in Olympic National ParkUnited States Forest Service ranger stationsUse mdy dates from August 2023
Elwha Ranger Station Residence ONP1
Elwha Ranger Station Residence ONP1

The Elwha Ranger Station is a historic district in Olympic National Park, originally built in the 1930s for the U.S. Forest Service. The complex of fourteen buildings is divided in two by Olympic Hotsprings Road. To the east lie the ranger station and three residences, with nine maintenance buildings on the west side of the road. The complex was turned over to the National Park Service in 1940 when the land was added to Olympic National Park from Olympic National Forest. Construction is typical of USFS practice, and reflects the Forest Service's preference of the time for bungalow and American Craftsman style architecture.The Elwha area was designated as one of fifteen areas in Olympic National Forest to be used for public recreation. The "Cleator Plan," named after Forest Service recreation engineer Fred W. Cleator, envisioned the construction of appropriate structures to support these activities, including a ranger station. In the mid-1930s a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established nearby, contributing labor for forest construction projects. When the area was taken over by the National Park Service in 1940 the complex continued in use virtually unchanged, retaining its Forest Service character.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Elwha Ranger Station (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Elwha Ranger Station
Olympic Hot Springs Road,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 48.01651 ° E -123.59048 °
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Address

Olympic Hot Springs Road 3959
98363
Washington, United States
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Elwha Ranger Station Residence ONP1
Elwha Ranger Station Residence ONP1
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Altair Campground Community Kitchen
Altair Campground Community Kitchen

The Altair Campground Community Kitchen, also known as Altaire Campground Community Kitchen, was built in Olympic National Park, Washington, United States, to serve the Altair Campground. It is an open rectangular shelter built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps personnel from the Elwha River Camp in the National Park Service Rustic style. Located near the Elwha River, the peeled log structure is capped with a cedar shake roof, enclosing a cooking fireplace and chimney. It measures about 28 feet (8.5 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m), with a stone cooking fireplace in the middle, rising through the roof. The lower portions of the log columns have been replaced with concrete piers due to deterioration, and the original peeled log railings have disappeared.The Altair and Elwha Campground Community Kitchens are the only such structures remaining in Olympic National Park. The Altair campground was named after the USS Altair, whose crew regularly used the site in the 1920s and 1930s. The kitchen structure was listed on National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 2007.By 2014 the Elwha Dam and all other dams along the Elwha River were removed. When the river flooded in November 2015, both Altair and Elwha Campgrounds were severely damaged by water. National Park Service has no plans to restore the two campgrounds. As of May 2023, rangers at Olympic National Park confirmed the Altair Kitchen was under about 9 feet of sediment, and the Elwha Kitchen is completely covered in sediment from the Elwha River.

Geyser Valley trail
Geyser Valley trail

The Geyser Valley trail in Olympic National Park is an area along the Elwha River between Rica Canyon and the Grand Canyon of the Elwha, where many homesteaders tried to eke out a living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, this trail allows hikers to visit several interesting sites, as well as, providing several loops of different lengths. The route begins at Whiskey Bend Trailhead, at the end of Whiskey Bend road, approximately 5 miles from the Elwha Ranger Station. It travels for about 1.3 miles along the Elwha River trail, before the first descent down approximately 400 feet to Goblins Gate at the head of Rica Canyon. The trail continues along the Elwha River through a riparian forest of bigleaf maple, red alder, black cottonwood, with Douglas fir, Western red cedar, and Grand fir. The trail passes the alder grove of Krause Bottom, where the first possible loop back up the slope heads up, and some old homesteader clearings, before arriving at Humes Ranch Cabin, approximately 3 miles from the trailhead. Humes Ranch Cabin is maintained today by the National Park Service as a historic site, and the meadows below the cabin are kept open as Humes once did. You can also see 100-year-old fruit trees in the pastures. Approximately 3/4 of a mile further, the trail climbs the eroding cliffs along the river and crosses Dodger point bridge at the mouth of the Grand Canyon of the Elwha. This marks the end of Geyser Valley, but the trail continues for 11 miles up to the summit of Dodger Point Mountain at over 5,700 ft. It is possible to begin looping back to the Elwha river trail, by slowly climbing the slope. The trail will meet the short-cut coming up from Humes Ranch Cabin and then will pass the old homestead of Michael's Cabin. The trail then heads back on a level grade back towards Whiskey Bend trailhead. Homesteaders historically reported seeing enormous numbers of salmon coming up the river each year to spawn. However, salmon have been blocked from the upper 65 miles of river habitat with the construction of the Elwha Dam in 1913. However, both the Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam were removed in 2012. As part of the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration project, Chinook salmon began returning to the Geyser Valley.