Seasonal Changes

Folks visiting Mt. Rainier National Park now through the fall and winter should consider the NPS uses September and October as the transistion months for seasonal operations at visitors centers and roads. In additon, the NPS has scheduled changes to accommodate the new visitors center at Paradise. These will be described below.

Visitors Centers: The Longmire center remains open all year, closing only for extreme weather. The new Jackson center is now open weekends and holiday only (and mostly daylight hours). The Sunrise center is closed for the season. The Ohanopecosh center is also closed for the season.

Lodging: The Paradise Inn closed October 6th and National Park (Longmire) Inn is open year around.

Campgrounds: The White River, Ohanopecosh and Cougar Rock campgrounds are closed. The Sunshine campground is permanently closed. And the Ipsut Creek campground is now a hike-in backcountry campground now (permit required).

Roads: All highways are currently open except the Sunrise road which is closed from the highway and the Stevens Canyon road which is closed at the Paradise and Ohanopecosh entrances. The Westside Road is open to Dry Creek with some section still under construction, and will close at the highway turnoff sometime later this fall, depending on snowfall.

Trails: All trails are open at this time. You can get the latest status from the NPS Web page.

That's it for now. You can get additional information from the current conditions Web page.