Park Construction Frequently-Asked-Questions

Work will include the rehabilitation of 185 campsites and nine restroom buildings, replacing the wastewater collection system, upgrading electrical and water systems, road repairs, and accessibility improvements. 

The original Ohanapecosh Hot Springs Resort started in the 1920’s and the Civilian Conservation Corps used public works funding to further improve the campground between 1934 and 1939. 

No.

No.

No.

Ohanapecosh Campground information can be found on the Ohanapecosh webpage on the park’s website and on the updated park construction webpage. 

No. The entire Ohanapecosh Developed Area, including all campsites, group camping sites, Cowlitz Indian Tribe Designated Use Area, visitor center, restrooms, auditorium, Ohanapecosh river access, picnic area and parking facilities will be closed for the construction project.  

No. Visitor access to the Ohanapecosh area will not be permitted in summer 2025 as the site will be under construction.  

No. Special Use Permits will not be issued for any portion of the Ohanapecosh area, including the amphitheater, in summer 2025. No visitor access will be permitted. The site will be under construction.  

No.

The Cougar Rock Campground and White River Campground will both be open to visitors during the summer 2025 camping season. Walk in sites at Ipsut and Mowich will also be available.  For more information on camping in the park, please visit the campgrounds webpage.

Reservations for the 2026 camping season are expected to reopen on www.recreation.gov in December 2025. 

This $24.1M project is funded by the Great American Outdoors Act's Legacy Restoration Fund ($3.3M), Recreation Fee revenues ($19.3M), and National Park Foundation ($1.5M). 

The 2020 Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) is historic bipartisan legislation that expands equitable and accessible recreational opportunities and addresses long overdue infrastructure improvement and modernization needs on public lands managed by the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Education schools.   

The funding is reducing the maintenance and repair backlog, protecting critical resources, expanding recreational opportunities, and promoting long-term sustainable operations. 

GAOA is funded by royalties from offshore oil and gas leases. The LRF provides up to $1.9 billion a year for five years to repair critical facilities and infrastructure in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and American Indian schools. The NPS receives 70% of the LRF—up to $1.3 billion each year, or up to $6.65 billion total, through 2025.

Yes. The size of the LRF funding relative to other sources presents an opportunity to address large-scale deferred maintenance projects that cannot realistically be funded through other means. Without this investment, large projects would have to be phased, often with delay and public inconvenience, and at an increased cost. 

The funding supports dozens of large-scale projects in parks that will improve campgrounds, roads, trails, restrooms, water treatment systems, and visitor facilities that are aging and strained by a level of use they were not designed to support.  

The annual investment of up to $1.3 billion each year in national park infrastructure will in turn support jobs, businesses in local communities, and our national economy.     

GAOA has generated billions of dollars of economic activity in communities across the nation by supporting 57,900 jobs, creating a $4 billion labor market, and contributing $6.3 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product.