PORT ANGELES — Visits to Hurricane Ridge were up during the 2011 winter by 12 percent when compared with a five-year average.
But is that enough to continue weeklong access to the popular destination during the snowiest months?
That’s a question local civic leaders are trying to answer.
Olympic National Park did away with its limited winter schedule for Hurricane Ridge — Fridays through Sundays and holidays — this year after the community raised more than $75,000 to help cover the cost of keeping it accessible seven days a week.
The federal Interior Department committed the lion’s share of the funds: $250,000.
The federal agency has promised to contribute the same amount this year as part of a two- to three-year trial period as long as another $75,000 can be raised locally.
Some local officials, while commenting that they think another fundraiser should be held, aren’t sold on whether the public will get behind it.
Representatives of the park, city of Port Angeles, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce and Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission met last week to discuss whether another fundraising campaign should be launched.
City Manager Kent Myers said they “didn’t feel comfortable as a group” making that decision and are requesting input, whether by phone or email to each agency, from the general public.
They will meet again Wednesday, June 29, to make a decision.
Myers called the program a “moderate success” so far.
The increased winter access — which lasted from Dec. 17 to March 31 — is intended to give Port Angeles and the rest of the North Olympic Peninsula a bump in tourism.
From January through March, the park counted 24,547 vehicle trips to Hurricane Ridge.
The Ridge averaged 21,565 trips from 2005 through 2009. (The road was blocked by a slide during January and February 2010.)
The road, which was closed at times because of bad weather, was open 77 percent of the time, said park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
That’s shy of the 80 percent average during the winter, she said.
Maynes said the park was hoping for more visits this year but added that the extended schedule shouldn’t be judged on its first year alone.
“I think we are seeing . . . a learning curve for the public just knowing that this is something available,” she said.
Diane Schostak, Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission director, called it a “threshold to improve from.”
But, like Maynes, she said she believes it’s worth another try.
“It doesn’t make any sense for any program to stop after the first year,” Schostak said.
“We need to be consistent in our programs over time in order to encourage people to come to Hurricane Ridge and the Olympic Peninsula that time of year,” she added.
The Tourism Commission has already agreed to contribute $3,000, the same amount it donated last year.
The Chamber of Commerce increased its advertising in the Seattle area to promote weeklong access to the Ridge.
Chamber Executive Director Russ Veenema said it’s difficult to estimate the economic impact of the program.
To make it worthwhile, advertising will have to be increased, he said, likely through social media.
“In total, a return on investment for year one . . . I would say that the return was not there,” Veenema said. “But that wasn’t anticipated.
“It takes a little while to get the word out.
“Next year, we are going to be able to start earlier with getting the word out.”
Evan Brown, co-manager of Brown’s Outdoor, said the store saw an increase in snowshoe rentals this year, but he couldn’t attribute it to weekday access to the Ridge.
He said that was likely because of the long winter.
But he said he also doesn’t think the park should revert to Friday-through-Sunday access this winter.
“I just don’t see enough people in the first year figuring out it’s open,” Brown said, adding:
“If they can keep [Mount] Rainier open to Paradise [Inn], why can’t they keep Hurricane Ridge open?”
Those who want to contribute now can make checks out to Washington’s National Park Fund — P.O. Box 64626, University Place, WA 98464-0626 — with the notation “Olympic NP-Hurricane Ridge.”
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.