“Removing the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams will free the Elwha River after nearly 100 years. Salmon populations will swell, from 3,000 to more than 300,000 as all five species of Pacific salmon return to more than 70 miles of river and stream.”  NPS.gov (via the Wayback Machine)

I finally made it back up to the Olympic National Park last weekend to explore the Elwha River Wilderness once more; below is the sight of perhaps one of the most unique and exciting ecological restoration initiatives presently occurring anywhere on Earth.

In addition to seeing two black bears at the campsite and getting absolutely soaked in the rain, it rates as a ten out of ten experience, which I would happily repeat. 

Some years on from my last visit, this Wilderness is still an absolutely stunning sight and I would absolutely recommend visiting, provided (of course) that one is willing to practice proper food storage to prevent the bears from getting access to any human food. 

We camped at the Boulder Creek Campground, having parked at the Madison Falls trailhead; we had our National Park Wilderness/Backpacking permits (which includes letting the long suffering public servants know where you’ve parked your car, your license plate number, how many nights you’ll be out there, where you’ll be camping etc.) though we saw more bears than rangers.

One of the really interesting things about this place is that two very large dams were removed in the 2010’s towards the Restoration of the Elwha River. This has allowed the river to start flowing more freely and myriad species to begin their return in earnest; in addition to depositing sediment at the mouth of the river, which creates more habitat still! So far, some 70 acres of estuary habitat have been restored by the materials making their way, naturally, downstream at the mouth of the Elwha in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

The Glines Canyon Dam a.k.a. The Upper Elwha Dam was demolished in 2014 by the National Park Service as a part of the Elwha RIver restoration project. The Upper Elwha dam was built in the mid to late 1920’s and stood at 200 ft tall, making its removal the largest “intentional” dam removal in history (at the time). The ~$350 million project required extensive and enduring support from the Klallam Tribe, state and federal agencies.

The Restoration Project was not just about increasing the salmon yield by a factor of 100 after 100 years of the dams, it was also about respecting the natives:  

“The returning salmon and restored river will renew the culture of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, who have lived along the river since time immemorial. Tribal members will have access to sacred sites now inundated by water, and cultural traditions can be reborn.” NPG.gov (via the Wayback Machine)

*Shout out to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine for maintaining this link for the benefit of posterity. 

For the first time since the dams were removed, the Klallam Tribe were able to participate in a ceremonial and subsistence fishery of Coho Salmon in the Autumn of 2024. Recreational and commercial fishing have been on hold (thanks to the agreement of the NPS, the Klallam Tribe and Washington’s State Department of Fish and Wildlife) through this month (June of 2025) pending a “broad distribution” of spawning adults above the former dam sites. 

A conservationist’s work is never done, efforts to aid habitat restoration downstream of where the dam used to be are well underway. In related news, I recently acquired a copy of Robert Macfarlane’s “Is a River Alive?” and I’m very excited to dig into it. From my initial, personal impressions and reflections, I might offer that this River, the Elwha, is very much alive, as it’s surrounding ecology and newly revitalized associated wilderness. 

Pictured: where the road runs out – after the dams were removed the river washed the bridge out, so the Port Angeles to Olympic Hot Springs route now involves an 11 mile trek via a trail to get around the river and a climb of some ~3,000ft through the woods, up the side of the valley, along the now semi-abandoned road.

There are even old, semi-abandoned ranger stations and service buildings that are gradually being reclaimed by the local ecology. 

Looking down on (and from) the remnants of the tallest dam to ever be intentionally breached (as of 2015), the Upper Elwha Dam (Glines Canyon): 

One more picture of the beautifully clear waters of the Elwha…