dam removal

Lake Mills, Elwha River, Olympic Nat’l Park the upper former Elwha River reservoir

Elwha River Thulefoth Comments
Lake Mills from east dam abutment

Lake Mills from east dam abutment

Lake Mills was a more popular and better recreational venue than the more readily-accessible lower reservoir on the Elwha River (Lake Aldwell), even though it was farther & slower to get to.   And Mills had more regulations and restrictions, because it was within Olympic National Park, while the lower lake & dam were entirely outside the Park, and in legal multi-use (mostly State timber) lands.   The settings of both are pretty & evocative (then, as now, with the lakes & dams gone); the abrupt plunging-hillside forested ‘shores’ (rather ‘harsh’; no beaches, only occasional small pull-outs) were comparable in both cases. … cont’d >

Upper Lake Mills Trail, Olympic Nat’l Park to the base of Rica Canyon

Elwha River Thulefoth Comments
Upper Lake Mills Trail, timbered slope

Upper Lake Mills Trail, timbered slope

Upper Lake Mills Trail leads 0.4 mile from the small roadside Upper Lake Mills Trailhead to the banks of the Elwha River, in the Olympic National Park.  The locale at the river coincides with the exit and termination of Rica Canyon, which forms an impassable barrier to travel.  It looks like it could be a surviving, partially unmodified fragment of an ancient mountain trail network used by the Tribes, in the Olympic Mountains that became Olympic National Park.   The trailhead is a pullout on the Whiskey Bend Road, only a short walk (1/5 mi?) down from the much larger Whiskey Bend Trailhead (which could be used as a backup), where the road dead-ends today. … cont’d >

Lake Aldwell, Elwha River, Olympic Peninsula, NW USA

Elwha River Thulefoth Comments
Log boom dam guard Lake Aldwell

Log boom dam guard Lake Aldwell

Lake Aldwell is the impoundment of the Elwha River above the lower of the two dams on it (both slated for removal in 2011).

The main local two-lane road through this region, Highway 101, makes a moderately steep descent from the east, to the bridge crossing the Elwha a short ways above the upper end of the lake. This slope forms the eastern side of the lake, and at the top before the road descends, is a large paved pullout & viewpoint. There are views of Lake Aldwell, and excellent views further up the Elwha River valley and surrounding & interior (National Park) mountains. … cont’d >