OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The west rim of the Glines Canyon overlook is finished and ready for visitors, just in time for summer.
Perched on what was once the spillway of the 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam, the overlook offers expansive views of a wide valley that previously held the Lake Mills reservoir.
The Elwha River, released by breaching of the dam that was finished in August, now flows freely through the deep canyon just below the viewpoint.
Olympic National Park announced the opening of the spillway overlook late last week. A soft opening took place Memorial Day weekend.
“It’s an incredibly dramatic setting with the very narrow, deep canyon,” park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said Friday, “and then just upstream of the canyon, it widens out into this huge, broad valley that is open now with a river flowing through it.
“It’s a really dramatic scene, both the canyon and the valley,” she said.
Accessed from Olympic Hot Springs Road west of Port Angeles, the wheelchair-accessible overlook features eight interpretive signs that explain the history of the dam and the National Park Service’s $325 million restoration of the Elwha River.
Glines Canyon Dam was built between 1925 and 1927, flooding an area once known as Smokey Bottom.
The dam and its older cousin — Elwha Dam 9 miles downstream — were torn down beginning in 2011 to restore the river for salmon and other wildlife.
Restoration of the Elwha River is ongoing. Scientists continue to monitor fish and sediment flows. Crews have planted native vegetation in the former reservoirs.
“We invite people to visit the new Glines Canyon Spillway Overlook,” Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum said in a news release.
“It is a place for all to enjoy the canyon views and learn more about the history and ongoing restoration of the Elwha River.”
An overlook on the east side of the canyon is accessible by a 1-mile walk.
The new spillway overlook and surrounding area were designed and constructed by park employees.
The $245,000 facility was paid for through a special National Park Service fund designed to improve visitor accessibility.
Contractors supplied a wheelchair-accessible vault toilet and new pavement for the old spillway.
The interpretive panels were designed and written by park staff.
“I’m very proud of the work our team has accomplished in making this new accessible overlook a reality,” Creachbaum said.
To get there, take U.S. Highway 101 west from Port Angeles to Olympic Hot Springs Road, then turn left (a right turn eastbound on the highway from Forks and the West End). Follow the road to the Glines Overlook (although you’ll be required to pay an entrance fee to Olympic National Park en route).
The park opened the east side of the overlook in November.
That access, which has 10 parking spaces, can be reached by following the gravel Whiskey Bend Road about one mile south from its intersection with the Olympic Hot Springs Road.
Elsewhere in the Elwha Valley, Altair Campground remains closed because of extensive flood damage from last winter.
Whiskey Bend Road remains closed to vehicles because of a major slide. Pedestrian, bicycle and stock travel are allowed on the 4.5-mile gravel road.
Olympic Hot Springs Road is open.
Check the park’s website, www.nps.gov/olym, for current trail conditions.
