Campers will have plenty of options this holiday weekend, thanks in part to early snowmelt.

In the southeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park, the 188 campsites at Ohanapecosh Campground opens Friday. Cougar Rock Campground, between Longmire and Paradise, will not open until June 27 instead of Friday. The 173-site campground will be open six fewer weeks because of sequestration.

Park officials also said Stevens Canyon Road will open at noon Friday, not 8 a.m. as previously announced, as long as the weather.

At Olympic National Park, campgrounds opening this weekend or shifting from primitive camping to running water include …

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Mount Rainier National Park officials issued this press release today regarding a climbing accident over the weekend:

On the afternoon of Saturday, May 18, a party of three climbers was ascending Liberty Ridge near the Mount Rainier summit when a small avalanche swept away the lead climber and emplaced fall protection failed.

Self-arrest efforts by the group’s third member halted the descent of the entire group.

Despite the lead climber’s sustaining an angulated left lower leg fracture, the three climbers were able to reach the top of Liberty Cap.

On the morning of May 19, they contacted a climbing

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Crews will resume work Friday on 10 miles of Stevens Canyon Road in Mount Rainier National Park.

This will be the second and final season of road rehabilitation that begun last summer by Tucci and Sons, Inc., of Tacoma that was awarded the $8.9 million contract.

Work this spring and summer will focus on drainage improvements; repair and stabilization and reconstruction of historic rock retaining walls; leveling the existing asphalt surface in spots; and resurfacing the roadway. Minor repair also will be done at two road tunnels west of Box Canyon.

Visitors should expect delays up 20 minutes through each …

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Fishing for hatchery spring chinook salmon and hatchery steelhead will reopen Saturday on the lower Columbia River under an agreement reached earlier today by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon.

The fishery, scheduled to run through June 15, will be on the river from the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line near the mouth of the river to the deadline below Bonneville Dam. For boat anglers, the upriver boundary is Beacon Rock.

Anglers may retain one adult hatchery chinook salmon as part of their daily limit.

Barbless hooks are required. All chinook salmon and steelhead not marked with a clipped adipose fin …

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Recreational spot shrimp fishing will reopen Wednesday in Marine Area 11 and most of Marine Area 10 for just one day. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said the areas could reopen because sufficient recreational spot shrimp quota remains in the waters off Tacoma and central Puget Sound for one more day of fishing.

The exception in Marine Area 10 is Elliott Bay, defined as all waters east of a line from West Point to Alki Point. The Elliott Bay portion of Marine Area 10 has a separate spot shrimp quota, and the quota has been reached in that …

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Recreational spot shrimp fishing will reopen in Marine Area 11 and most of Marine Area 10 for one day on Wednesday.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the opening, saying sufficient recreational spot shrimp quota remains in the waters off Tacoma and central Puget Sound for one more day of fishing

The exception in Marine Area 10 is Elliott Bay, defined as all waters east of a line from West Point to Alki Point. The Elliott Bay portion of Marine Area 10 has a separate spot shrimp quota, and the quota has been reached in that area.
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Halibut fishing in all of Marine Area 2 will close Monday, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this morning.

Anglers taking part in the area’s recreational halibut fishery are projected to have taken the Pacific halibut quota for the primary season and the northern nearshore area by the end of the day Sunday. This rule conforms to federal action taken by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

The closure includes the northern nearshore area from the Queets River (47º31.70’N. latitude) south to Point Chehalis (46º58.00’N. latitude) and east of a line approximating the …

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Lakes

American: Some anglers are catching their limits of kokanee, trolling the west side of the lake. Pink seems to be the most productive color, both for a dodger and squid-style lures. The fish were holding 20-25 feet down, according to one report.

Crescent: Trolling Wedding Rings in orange or pink is producing catches of rainbow trout.

Drano: Boat anglers averaged almost a chinook per every four rods last week. About 30 percent of the catch were jacks.

Pattison: The action has not been red hot, but people fishing from shore are catching rainbow trout fishing a worm under a …

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