Elwha Dam Interpretive Site

Elwha Dam Interpretive Site is a compact, open-sided timber pavilion at milepost 60 on SR 112. Its 22 large panels explain the Elwha River, Lower Elwha Klallam ties to the river, and the dams that reshaped the valley. If you want to understand what dam removal changed, this is a worthwhile context stop. The pavilion isn't the old dam or a river overlook; trails toward the gorge and former-dam views start from nearby parking, but those are separate walks. Thirteen panels make a self-guided program, and a 32-minute audio description covers the full display.

Concrete sidewalks connect the parking area to the exhibits, and a picnic table sits on its own concrete pad. The site is marked wheelchair accessible, and a restroom is listed, though its type isn't specified.

Construction of the 105-foot Elwha Dam began in 1910, and it was generating power by 1914. About eight river miles upstream, the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam was producing power by 1927. The dams blocked salmon and sediment, and their reservoirs flooded Lower Elwha Klallam homelands and cultural sites. Congress authorized restoration in 1992; removal began in 2011, Elwha Dam came down six months later, and Glines Canyon Dam was removed in 2014.

The dams had blocked access to about 70 miles of spawning habitat. After removal, salmon could reach about 75 miles of river and tributaries. In 2013, hundreds of Chinook passed the old Elwha Dam site and spawned in three tributaries that had been inaccessible for a century. The panels also cover Chinook, chum, coho, pink and sockeye salmon, plus sea-run cutthroat, steelhead and bull trout.

The exhibits present the Lower Elwha Klallam's enduring connection to the river alongside the peninsula's long human history. NPS dates the oldest currently identified human evidence on the Olympic Peninsula to about 13,800 years ago; that's regional context, not a date for this site.