Observation Point is a small developed lookout above the now-drained of Lake Mills reservoir of the Elwha River, along the Olympic Hot Springs Road on a jutting shoulder of Happy Lake Ridge. The road then turns and heads into the Boulder Creek canyon. In former times, the hillside below the little lookout parking lot was cleared of trees growing up and blocking the view. But more recently, it has become evident that this clearing is no longer being done. With the new valley below – the Elwha Restoration Project – will Olympic National Park again remove trees to restore this viewscape?
The first caveat is going to be, the timber on this hillside might be second growth (having been logged?), and is still gaining height fairly rapidly. If so, the area that would need to be cleared could become impractically large. A couple acres discretely notched in the hill, alongside the already existing cleared swath of the road itself, is one thing. As the distance that trees need to be removed from the view-site increases, the area of the clearing goes up logarithmically … and the visual impact from other locations would too. I have not yet determined whether this stand is second-growth, but a brief tour through the woods will show whether there are old cut-stumps.
Another interest attached to the lookout, is that this strategic ridge-shoulder is also said to have a long-disused trail or trails, or fragments/remants of old or ancient trails, coursing down or along the hillside into local settings that are not otherwise accessible. Such paths might even have archaeological or prehistoric significance. In particular, the Boulder Creek Ancient Village site is directly down the fall-line (and natural trail-route) of this ridgeline, and the adjoining creek canyon is also the locale of interesting questions.
An examination of the ground-surface along the suspected trail-route does show that at the least, others have also gone down and looked around … it not being unknown that rumors of trails alone can create them where they were not – at least for a short way. An obvious check on this possibility is to examine the ridgeline, upslope of the road. If there was an old path running this ridge, it was headed further up, where it would link with other trails; some still in service, others with varying degrees of support thought to be abandoned.
The presence of a barrier-protected little pull-through parking lot at this locale will continue to be an attractive day-outing or extra-time feature, whether trees are allowed to encroach on the view below or not.