Lodge fire & road closure

(Note: This is an update post from our website. If you’re receiving this via email it means you’ve signed up to receive website updates and we urge you to visit the site for complete ride information).

We understand your frustration at the lack of information about the Hurricane Ridge road closure as a result of the Day Lodge at Hurricane Ridge burning to the ground. Believe us when we say that we share your frustration. Continuing to move forward with the enormous amount of time and money that goes into planning this ride would obviously feel a lot better if the Olympic National Park were to provide any kind of indication, even just a rough estimate, of when the road will open. However, that is not how the park operates when communicating with the public. Rather than trying to make estimates or approximations, the Olympic National Park will only provide information that is imminent or certain. For this reason, the Olympic National Park has stated that the road will be closed “indefinitely” which is a neutral word and does not indicate an extended period of time, a short period of time, or any other implication of how long it will be. It also doesn’t mean that Olympic National Park lacks any kind of internal timeline or estimate for how long it’s going to take. The park is focusing all of its energy on resolving this crisis and to get the road reopened as quickly as possible. It creates more work and slows things down if they are also having to manage public expectations, so it is in the best interest of all if they simply don’t create any. The park sees millions of visitors a year and is an enormous and complex operation under normal circumstances, let alone during a crisis like this. Please be patient with the team at Olympic National Park, as they are an incredible group of people doing a fantastic job during a great time of stress.

Obviously we are following this situation very closely, and based on the information we have we are still very optimistic that Ride the Hurricane will happen on August 6th. Many other tours and businesses that rely on Ridge access are also moving forward with the assumption that the road will be open soon. Of course this is NOT a guarantee, and each person should make decisions based on their own personal knowledge and assessment of the situation, especially if you are making nonrefundable travel reservations. We strongly suggest that your plans remain flexible, as we cannot make any guarantees. And of course if the worst happens and the ride cannot take place this year, we will offer full refunds for all registrations and jerseys.

As of today (June 1st) the ride has approximately 75 slots remaining, and thanks to a gracious extension from our jersey purveyor we’ve extended early-bird pricing until June 7th, so don’t wait to grab your spot if you plan to do the ride. You also have until June 7th to order a jersey and get it on ride day. Jerseys ordered after that will be shipped free of charge.

We will continue to keep you updated with information from the Olympic National Park when it is released and will share any confirmed information immediately. Please be sure you are subscribed to the website so you’ll receive an email whenever we post an update.

Photo by Blake Manning