Celebrate and support state’s national parks; plan a fly-fishing trip on a budget

Free entrance to Mount Rainier, Olympic

Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks will celebrate National Park Week by offering free admission the next two weekends.

Visitors will not have to pay the $25 entrance fees on April 15-16 and April 22-23.

Unfortunately, with the weeklong celebration falling during early spring, the most popular places in the parks, Paradise and Hurricane Ridge, are not ideal locations for a spring hike because there’s still too much snow on the ground. Still, people can visit locations such as Longmire and Carbon River at Mount Rainier, or Kalaloch, Rialto Beach and Lake Crescent at Olympic.

Olympic will celebrate National Junior Ranger Day on Saturday. There will be free activities 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Olympic National Park Visitor Center, 3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles.

Outdoor activities will include ranger-led walks, exhibits on trail safety, search and rescues, camping skills, plus games and a scavenger hunt. Inside the center, there will be movies, crafts and the opportunity to look through microscopes.

Park Fund hosts annual spring fundraiser

Tickets are on sale for Washington’s National Park Fund’s April 22 spring dinner and auction.

Former Gov. Christine Gregoire is the honorary chairwoman for this year’s event. The evening includes the chance to meet staffers from the three national parks in the state and take part in live and silent auctions.

There will be the Fund-A-Need, during which money raised during that event is targeted for specific purposes in the park. This year theme is “Preservation with a Purpose.” The money will go toward Mount Rainier National Park’s Ipsut Creek Cabin, North Cascades National Park’s Buckner Historic House and Olympic National Park’s Dodger Point Lookout.

Last year’s event raised more than $250,000.

The dinner will be held at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Individual tickets are $125.

For more information and to order tickets, go to wnpf.org.

Plan a fishing trip on a budget

Anil Srivastava will give a presentation, “Fly Fishing Destinations on the Cheap,” when he speaks Thursday at the meeting of the Puget Sound Flyfishers.

Srivastava is the owner of Puget Sound Fly Co. in Tacoma, and has traveled extensively to fly fish for different species.

It’s no secret fly-fishing can be expensive, Srivastava said, especially when traveling to a fishing destination. Srivastava will share some his tips ideas for getting on the road and experiencing a fly-fishing trip of a lifetime on almost any budget.

The meeting, free and open to the public, will take place at Tower Lanes Entertainment Center, 6323 Sixth Ave., Tacoma. The evening begins at 6 p.m. There is an optional $15 buffet or salad bar preceding the presentation as well as a no-host bar. The program begins around 8 p.m.

This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 7:37 AM with the headline "Celebrate and support state’s national parks; plan a fly-fishing trip on a budget."