Hoh Rainforest

On December 20, 2024, the Jefferson County government announced the closure of the Upper Hoh Road—the only vehicular access to the rainforest and visitors center—after flooding of the Hoh River had washed out portions of the road. The embankment separating the road from the Hoh River had been weakened by a major bomb cyclone a month earlier that eroded and saturated the soil. Portions of the road that had been damaged or destroyed in previous winter storms and floods had been repaired and reopened using emergency federal funding, but the mass layoffs and disruption to federal services beginning in early 2025 led to an uncertain timeline. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson announced in March 2025 that the state government would fund the majority of the estimated $650,000 in repairs to the Upper Hoh Road, with the remainder from more than 100 private donors. The Upper Hoh Road was fully repaired by May 5 and reopened to traffic on May 8, restoring public access to the visitors center. ==Climate==

Hoh Rainforest is the wettest forest in the Contiguous United States, receiving of rain per year. It is a Warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb), as it receives significantly higher precipitation during winter than in summer. }} ==Flora==

growing as an epiphyte on an older tree in the Hoh Rainforest The dominant species in the rainforest are Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla); some grow to tremendous size, reaching over in height and in diameter. Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), red alder (Alnus rubra), vine maple (Acer circinatum), and black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) are also found throughout the forest. Many unique mosses and lichens are also present in the rainforest, such as lettuce lichen (Lobaria oregana), which "requires the cool, moist conditions found under the canopy of old-growth forests" and is consumed by deer, elk, and other animals. Ferns like the Western Sword fern (Polystichum munitum) also grow in the rainforest. ==Fauna==

Much native fauna also makes the Hoh Rainforest their home, including the Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), bobcat (Lynx rufus), cougar (Puma concolor cougar), raccoon (Procyon lotor), Olympic black bear (Ursus americanus altifrontalis), Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), coyote (Canis latrans), Cascade red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus columbianus). Recently, naturalists have been planning on reintroducing fishers to the forest and surrounding forests due to their almost extirpated population in Washington and the introduced Virginia opossum is beginning to make way to the region in and around the forest. The area is also home to the banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus), which has recently been threatened by the encroachment of a new species of slug, the black slug (Arion ater), an invasive species from Northern Europe. ==Trails==

The Hoh Rainforest is home to a National Park Service ranger station, from which backcountry trails extend deeper into the national park. Near the visitor center is the Hall of Mosses Trail, a short trail—— which gives visitors a feel for the local ecosystem and views of maples draped with large growths of spikemoss. There is also the Spruce Nature Trail (), which includes signs that identify various trailside trees and plants. ==Gallery==

: See also File:Lettucelichen.jpg|Lobaria oregana on the forest floor File:Hoh Rain Forest Entrance Sign.jpg|National Park Service sign at the entrance of the park File:Hoh river in spring.jpg|The Hoh River that runs through the forest File:ElkAtTheHoh.JPG|A herd of elk grazing at the forest File:Banana slug in the Hoh Rainforest.jpg|A banana slug File:NurseryTree.JPG|A nurse log providing nutrients for other growing trees ==References==