Planning a trip to Mount Rainier National Park
Information
Contact Mount Rainier National Park, 55210 238th Ave. E., Ashford, WA 98304 (tel. 360/569-2211; www.nps.gov/mora). The park publishes a free newspaper, The Tahoma News, available at visitor centers with information about park activities.
Visitor Centers
When you arrive, stop at one of the park's four visitor centers. The year-round Longmire Museum (tel. 360/569-6575) is inside the park beyond the Nisqually Entrance and is the welcoming center for the park. The Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center (tel. 360/569-6571), near Paradise Meadows, is the park's main visitor center, open year-round. The Ohanapecosh Visitor Center (tel. 360/569-6581), off Wash. 123 in the southeast corner of the park, is near the Stevens Canyon Entrance. It's open in summer only. The Sunrise Visitor Center, off Wash. 410, past the White River Entrance (tel. 360/663-2425), is in the northeast section of the park. It's also open in summer only.
Fees
Entry to the park for up to 7 days costs $15 per vehicle, $5 for individuals on foot, bike, or motorcycle. Camping costs $12 to $15 per night, depending on the campground and season.
Special Regulations & Warnings
The main thing to remember in the heavily visited spots in the subalpine portions of the park is to stay on the trails and stay off the wildflowers. Off-trail trampling erodes the thin loam topsoil that supports the fragile vegetation.
Be sure to boil any water taken from the park's rivers, as it has been known to carry Giardia, the little bug that causes mighty intestinal disorder.
Don't even think about heading for a day climb anywhere near the upper altitudes of Rainier without checking in at a ranger station or employing a guide. Steep snowfields can become slippery in the sun or contain unstable ice bridges. Remember, people die in the high altitudes every year.
Additionally, the National Park Service wants visitors to be aware of some other risks: Mud flows, glacial outburst floods, and falling rocks are hazards that may be encountered here.
The 2006 & 2009 Floods
A massive rainstorm on November 2006 dumped nearly 18 inches of rain in 36 hours on Mount Rainier National Park, turning every river into a raging torrent and burying trails and roads under landslides all over the park. Afterward, a violent windstorm uprooted trees, causing further damage. Much of Wash. 123 on the east side of the park and Carbon River Road in the northwest corner were damaged, as were numerous trails and backcountry bridges. Another flood in January 2009 destroyed sections of Stevens Canyon and Nisqually roads. Contact the park for current information.
Getting There
GETTING THERE:If you’re coming from Seattle and your destination is Paradise (the park’s most popular area), head for the southwest (Nisqually) park entrance. Take I-5 south to exit 127 and then head east on Wash. 512. Take the Wash. 7 exit and head south toward Elbe. At Elbe, continue east on Wash. 7 At the park entrance, you’ll be handed a comprehensive map that includes all trails and facilities. The park entrance fee is $15 per vehicle.
If you don’t have a car but still want to visit Mount Rainier National Park, book a tour through Tours Northwest (www.toursnorthwest.com; tel. 888/293-1404 or 206/768-1234), which charges $119 for adults and $87 for children ages 3 to 12 for a 10-hour tour starting in Seattle. These tours operate between late April and early November, and spend most of the day in transit, but you get to see the mountain up close and can do a couple of hours of hiking at Paradise.
VISITOR INFORMATION:For park information, contact Mount Rainier National Park, 55210 238th Ave. E., Ashford, WA 98304 (www.nps.gov/mora; tel. 360/569-2211). For general information on the area, contact Visit Rainier (www.visitrainier.com; tel. 877/270-7155).
When to Go
Seasons & Climate
Summer is the warmest and driest time of the year, with frequent fog banks rolling in late and early in the day, and temperatures ranging from the upper 40s to the low 80s (10s to mid-20s Celsius). The spring and fall are cool and drizzly, with occasional days of warm weather late in the spring and early in the fall. The greatest rainfall comes in January and December, with daytime temperatures in the 40s (10s Celsius). Weather generally gets colder and nastier the higher up you go, and there is lots of snow in the higher elevations. This snow can linger well into the summer, even at popular Paradise.
It's important that you dress in layers for a day visit, when you may encounter any type of weather. It can go from warm to cool very quickly as you climb in altitude. Rain can come in suddenly, so rain gear is a good precaution.
Avoiding the Crowds
On a sunny summer weekend, it is sometimes necessary to park more than a mile from Paradise and walk on forest trails and the road to the meadows. You can avoid the crowds by visiting in the spring or fall. Keep in mind that, in May, Paradise and Sunrise will still be snow-covered and most park roads will be closed; weather may still be unsettled. Even in June, Paradise may remain snow-covered and some park roads may be closed. Also, the rainy season starts in mid- to late October and continues until early summer.
Perhaps the best tip, if you're traveling in busy months, is to visit on weekdays rather than weekends. You might also consider avoiding the Sunrise and Paradise areas altogether, heading instead to the more remote sections of the park, such as the Carbon River area in the northwest section, or the Denman Falls/Gobblers Knob area in the southwest. Both are accessible, at least part of the way, by car, and they provide the same sorts of stunning vistas you get at Sunrise and Paradise. The Carbon River Road is subject to flood closures; check with park staff. The Westside Road, which leads to the Denman Falls area (open summer only), is closed due to flood damage 3 miles up, so you will have to do some hiking. Be sure to check at the ranger station for the latest info.
Otherwise, a good plan is to arrive at either Sunrise or Paradise early in the day -- before 10am -- spend an hour checking out the visitor center, and then high-tail it out to a trail. Likewise, people generally leave the park between 4 and 6pm, so if you can arrange to arrive at a visitor center around 5pm (with the idea of staying put for an hour or so), you can avoid a lot of the traffic.
Finally, you might try reversing this advice, hitting Sunrise at sundown. Most park visitors are leaving through the Nisqually Entrance in the park's southwest corner late in the day; you'll be heading in the opposite direction.
