OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A handful of spaces in May are still available for a public tour of the Elwha Dam powerhouse.
The four by-reservation-only tours, each limited to 10 people, will be at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday; Saturday, April 30; Saturday, May 7; and Saturday, May 21.
Remaining tour spots are only available May 21, Dave Reynolds, Olympic National Park spokesman, said Thursday.
To make reservations for the tour, phone the park’s public affairs office at 360-565-2985.
The tours will allow an opportunity to view the interior of the historic Elwha powerhouse before it is decommissioned this summer.
Contractors will begin removing both the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in September as part of the $327 million Elwha River Restoration Project, which is intended to revive the waterway’s severely depleted salmon run.
Olympic National Park is offering the tours in collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
“We’re thankful to our reclamation partners for working with us to allow a rare opportunity for members of the public to see the inside of a working hydropower plant on the Elwha River,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin.
“The plant is still operating, so tours must be limited for safety and security reasons.”
Participants must be U.S. citizens. Valid identification such as a driver’s license or state identification card must be presented prior to entering the powerhouse.
100 steep steps
Tour participants must be 12 years or older; children younger than 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Participants must be in good physical condition and capable of climbing more than 100 steep steps.
Good walking shoes are a necessity; sandals or high heels will not be permitted on powerhouse tours.
The tour route is extremely strenuous, as the steps into and within the powerhouse are unusually steep and narrow, the park said in a statement.
The Elwha power plant is an active operating facility, so inherent risks associated with an industrial environment include loud equipment, high voltage and high water pressure, the park said.
Hard hats and earplugs will be provided to all participants for use during the tours.
Photography is permitted.
But backpacks, camera bags and water bottles are not allowed inside the powerhouse.
Thomas Aldwell formed the Olympic Power Co. and built the Elwha Dam, which became operational in 1913, five miles upstream of the river’s mouth.
The dam provided power to Port Angeles industries and other communities around the Olympic Peninsula.
In 1927, the Glines Canyon Dam and hydropower project was built eight miles upstream.
Both dams were built without methods of fish passage.
The Bureau of Reclamation has operated the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams since they were purchased by the United States in 2000.
For more information on Elwha River Restoration, visit www.nps.gov/olym.