With warmer, sunny days becoming a little more frequent in the Northwest
now, it seems Spring has officially arrived and Summer is not far behind.
However, at Mount Rainier snow still blankets the slopes (15 feet at
Paradise) and roadways. The Spring melt is beginning and park Road Crews
are cutting their way through the snowed-in roadway at Stevens Canyon.
This is still a great time of year to visit the park, to view the amazing
snowpack, to cross-country ski or snowshoe. Be sure to check on conditions
with park staff before going – spring avalanches can be deadly.
Paradise Inn Opens May 18 – On Friday, May 18, the historic Paradise Inn
opens its doors to welcome visitors for the 2012 season. Constructed in
1916, the Inn showcases a beautiful lobby and dining room featuring hand
painted hanging lamps depicting park wildflowers, three huge stone
fireplaces to welcome guests, 118 guest rooms, a café, and gift shop with
authentic Native American arts and crafts. A full service dining room
offers Northwest cuisine. The Inn is listed as a National Historic
Landmark.
In addition to the Paradise Inn, the National Park Inn at Longmire is also
open for visitors. The National Park Inn offers 25 guests rooms, a cozy
fireside room for guests to enjoy, full service restaurant, general store
and gift shop.
Both inns are operated by Mount Rainier Guest Services, Incorporated.
Reservations can be made on line at www.mtrainierguestservices.com or by
telephone at 360-569-2275.
Businesses in the gateway communities surrounding the park are also open
daily providing lodging, meals, gifts, equipment rentals, horseback riding,
fishing, special events and a variety of other needs to park visitors.
Information on these businesses is available on the internet at
www.visitrainier.com, www.mt-rainier.com, www.staycrystal.com,
www.destinationpackwood.com or www.minerallake.com.
CURRENT STATUS AND PROJECTED OPENING DATES:
Note: These dates are projected and may be subject to change depending on
conditions.
ROADS:
Stevens Canyon Road May 25 @ 8:00 a.m.
SR 410 to SR 123 over Cayuse Pass Open
White River Road to Campground lot May 25
Sunrise Road June 22 @ 8:00 a.m.
Mowich Lake Road June 29 @ 8:00 a.m.
Skate Creek Road (USFS Road 52) Open
Chinook Pass May 25
Westside Road Open to Dry Creek
Road Construction:
Stevens Canyon Road: Road construction repair work will be occurring on
two sections of the Stevens Canyon Road throughout the summer. Work will
be Monday through Friday until Labor Day – 20-minute delays should be
anticipated at each section. After Labor Day the road will be closed to
all traffic from just east of the intersection with the Paradise Valley
Road to east end of the tunnel at Box Canyon for the remainder of the
season, Visitors will still be able to access Box Canyon via the East
Entrance. During closure period, the road will be closed to through
traffic for both vehicles and cyclists.
SR 123: A micro-surfacing treatment will be applied on the roadway from
MP 6.8 to MP 13.8 (Cayuse Pass) from August 6 to August 17, 2012 with
20-minute delays anticipated. In addition, replacement of a failed deep
culvert at MP 10.6 will take place in mid- to late September. It is
anticipated that the work will take 2-days to accomplish and due to the
depth of the culvert a road closure will be necessary. A press release
will be issued prior to the closure.
Longmire:
Longmire Museum Open daily – 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
through June 30
9:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. July 1-September 3
Longmire Wilderness Information Center Open daily -7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
National Park Inn Open daily year round
Cougar Rock:
Cougar Rock Campground May 25
Cougar Rock Picnic Area May 25
Paradise:
Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center Open daily -10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
(until May 17)
Paradise Inn May 18 to June 15 -10:00
a.m.-6:00 p.m.
June 16 to September 2 – 10:00
a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Ohanapecosh:
Ohanapecosh Campground May 25
Ohanapecosh Visitor Center May 25–May 28 -10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Fri.,
Sat. Sun., Mon.)
June 2-3 (Sat., Sun.)
June 9-September 2 – 9:00 a.m.-6:00
p.m.
White River:
White River Road to Campground lot May 25
White River Campground June 29
Sunrise:
Sunrise Lodge (snack bar & gift shop) June 29
Sunrise Visitor Center June 29
Carbon River:
Ranger Station Open year round – Call for hours –
360-829-9639
For additional information visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/mora or
call 360-569-2211
“You can connect to Mount Rainier National Park through our social media
pages. Join the Mount Rainier community on Facebook, find out breaking news
and road status updates through Mount Rainier’s Twitter feed, explore the
park and behind-the-scenes operations with our videos on YouTube, and share
you own photos of Mount Rainier with other visitors in the Mount Rainier
Flickr group.”
Links used:
http://facebook.com/MountRainierNPS
http://twitter.com/MountRainierNPS
http://youtube.com/MountRainierNPS
http://flickr.com/groups/MountRainierNPS
