The agency is holding a series of First Day Hikes at four parks around the state.
The hikes are a chance for participants to appreciate the natural beauty of the state as part of the national effort to share stewardship for natural, cultural and recreational resources.
For South Sound residents, the nearest hike will begin at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 1 at Lake Sylvia State Park, near Montesano. The hike is a moderately easy two miles. Children must be 5 or older to participate. Participants are asked to leave pets and bicycles at home. The Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks are providing snacks and hot drinks after the hike in the picnic shelter. For more information, call 360-249-3621.
Deception Pass State Park will be the site of a moderate 1.5-mile hike starting at 11 a.m. Children must be 5 or older to participate. Participants are suggested to take along drinking water. The hike will begin at the Bowman Bay parking lot. For information, call 360-675-3767.
In Central Washington, an easy two-mile hike will be held at Squilchuck State Park. In the southeast, Fields Spring State Park will host a moderate two-mile snowshoe hike.
First Day Hikes began more than 20 years ago at Blue Hills Reservation, a state park in Milton, Mass. This New Year’s Day, however, will be the first time all 50 state park systems will have joined together to sponsor First Day Hikes.
The national effort is organized by the National Association of State Parks Directors. For more information about First Day Hikes, visit americasstateparks.org/first-day-hikes.
VISITOR COUNTS
MOUNT RAINIER
November 2011: 31,614
November 2010: 35,042
Difference: -9.8 percent
Year to date 2011: 1,018,062
Year-to-date 2010: 1,171,241
Difference: -13.1 percent
Weather has been the issue all year for limiting park visitation, and November was no different. The month’s total visitation was down nearly 10 percent. That can be attributed to the heavy snows that forced the closures of Cayuse and Chinook passes. Visitation counts at Cayuse Pass were down 24.4 percent and the count at White River was down 19.5 percent, accounting for almost the entire decline. The five-year average for November is 42,507 visits, 34.4 percent higher than last month’s total.
OLYMPIC
November 2011: 91,620
November 2010: 147,838
Difference: -38 percent
Year-to-date 2011: 2,882,456
Year-to-date 2010: 2,779,471
Difference: 3.7 percent
A major decline in visits to the Kalaloch area led to a significant drop – 38 percent – in recreation visits parkwide in November. Visits to Kalaloch were down 80.4 percent. That led the year-to-date count to drop from 6 percent through October to 3.7 percent through November.
jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com
