Sam Hill

Portland

Contributing Parks Editor at SFGate

Journalist at Freelance

covering PNW national parks for @sfgate, freelance everywhere else. find me on bluesky: https://t.co/s0LFPo98Ng

Articles

Texas teen dies after falling over waterfall in Olympic National Park

1 week ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The popular Sol Duc Falls area of Olympic National Park was closed all of last week as park officials prepared to recover the body of an 18-year-old man who died after falling over the waterfall. Grant Herridge, 18, died after crossing the upper river, slipping and falling over the nearly 50-foot waterfall. Park officials report that he briefly resurfaced and then went under again.
Search underway for visitor who fell over waterfall at Olympic National Park

2 weeks ago | sanluisobispo.com | Sam Hill

Search and rescue teams are combing Washington's Olympic National Park for a visitor who fell down Sol Duc Falls this weekend. The missing person went over the falls Sunday afternoon after he slipped on a wet rock in the middle of the falls, according to witnesses. Sol Duc Falls - a popular attraction known for inspiring risky behavior, often for the sake of social media content - splits into as many as four channels and cascades about 50 feet into a narrow, rocky canyon.
Search underway for visitor who fell over waterfall at Olympic National Park

2 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The missing person went over the falls Sunday afternoon after he slipped on a wet rock in the middle of the falls, according to witnesses. Sol Duc Falls — a popular attraction known for inspiring risky behavior, often for the sake of social media content — splits into as many as four channels and cascades about 50 feet into a narrow, rocky canyon. “He just hopped from the dry rock to a wet rock in the middle of the falls.
Popular Mount Rainier bridge now a dead end with no fix in sight

3 weeks ago | modbee.com | Sam Hill

Camping at Mowich Lake would normally be in full swing at this time of year, with visitors to the quieter side of Mount Rainier National Park taking in the beauty of the glacial basin waters or hiking to the old Tolmie Peak fire lookout to take in the mountains.
Popular Mount Rainier bridge now a dead end with no fix in sight

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Camping at Mowich Lake would normally be in full swing at this time of year, with visitors to the quieter side of Mount Rainier National Park taking in the beauty of the glacial basin waters or hiking to the old Tolmie Peak fire lookout to take in the mountains.
Already-struggling Crater Lake National Park just lost its leader

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Times are tough at Crater Lake National Park, where visitation sharply declined in 2024 and access to the lake via a main trail is set to soon close for years. On top of it all, the park’s top leader resigned Friday. Superintendent Kevin Heatley stepped down after just five months at the park, citing the Donald Trump administration’s ongoing cuts to National Park Service staff as his reason for taking a buyout offer.
Scientists just learned the age of America's deepest canyon

3 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in the country, has always been a marvel for geologists, archeologists and travelers. But researchers are just now learning about the origins of the canyon — and it’s a lot younger than previously believed. Carved by the Snake River, the canyon is nearly 8,000 feet deep (or roughly 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon) and straddles the border between Oregon and Idaho.
Trump admin's promised national parks hiring hasn’t actually happened

4 weeks ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The National Park Service has hired only about 3,000 of the 7,700 seasonal employees it pledged to find after the agency froze hiring and slashed permanent staff in February, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. “The [Trump] administration tried to turn some of this around and look good by exempting seasonal staff from the hiring freeze. They said, ‘We’re going to hire 7,700 seasonal staff.’ Well, guess what?
Oregon's iconic cave lodge now one of country's most endangered historic places

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

Perched atop the steep banks of Cave Creek, a charming lodge has always offered visitors to Oregon Caves National Monument a warm hearth to rest after exploring the marble halls of the nearby cavern. The Oregon Caves Chateau appears to grow out of the surrounding forest — an exemplar “parkitecture” vision, it was designed using Port Orford cedar bark and stones salvaged from the cave to blend into the slopes of Mount Elijah.
This bill to protect Olympic National Forest has been stuck for 13 years

1 month ago | sfgate.com | Sam Hill

The bill was first introduced in 2012 and has gone through numerous revisions and scalebacks to garner support from those initially opposed to it — namely the timber industry, hunters and fishers. It has passed in the House twice with bipartisan support and passed through the key Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate for the first time last year.