Hiker Headlines: WTA is hiring, new Riverside State Park trailhead, coastal cleanup

It’s April 3. WTA is hiring a summer trail crew leader for our work at Mount Rainier National Park. Work is starting on a new trailhead at Riverside State Park! An Olympic National Park coastal cleanup is coming up soon. And the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife wants your input to help them build a plan for the Olympic-Willapa Hills Wildlife Area Complex. Here’s some news you may have missed while out on trail this week.

WTA is hiring for a trail crew leader for our Mount Rainier trail crews this summer! Photo by Dan Hagberg. 

We’re hiring! WTA is seeking a seasonal trail crew leader for our Mount Rainier National Park work parties, between May 12 and Oct. 12. The crew leader will work in the field, leading volunteers in building and maintaining trails on single-day and multiday work parties in the South Puget Sound area during mid-May and in Mount Rainier National Park thereafter. No-cost housing will be provided for the duration of the season at the national park. The priority application deadline is April 18. 

New trailhead: The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commissions is starting work on a new trailhead along the Knothead Loop Trail in Riverside State Park. The new trailhead includes 38 parking spaces, two ADA accessible parking spaces, a new vault toilet and an accessible trail that accesses the Knotlead Loop Trail and the Little Spokane River Trail. The trail will be closed periodically during construction — visitors can still access and use the open parts of the trail, but they may not be able to complete the whole loop (so be prepared to backtrack!).

Coastal Cleanup: Join Olympic National Park’s Washington Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, April 19! Park employees and volunteers will remove marine debris from the Mora and Kalaloch coastlines. Please note that cleanup at Mora will require hiking several miles to the site, then carrying debris back to the trailhead. Volunteers can register online (at the links above) before 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 6; walk-up registration is available but not guaranteed. Free frontcountry camping will be available in the Kalaloch Campground for pre-registered volunteers.  

Share your experiences: The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) wants to know how you use and recreate at the Olympic, Johns River and Chehalis wildlife areas to help it create a 15-year management plan for the Olympic-Willapa Hills Wildlife Area Complex, which includes the three wildlife areas. WDFW invites the public to fill out its survey to help WDFW better understand how visitors currently enjoy the wildlife areas and what improvements they’d like to see in the future. 

BE IN THE KNOW

• Keep up to date with Trail News, our monthly email newsletter.
• Search our Hiking Guide to find your next adventure.
• Check trip reports for latest conditions on trails. And if you go for a hike, file your own trip report.
• Sign up for Families Go Hiking, our email newsletter for families with plenty of tips on keeping kids busy.
• Sign up for Trail Action Network to stay up to date on issues impacting trails and ways to get involved.