Spring Opening Forecasts for Mount Rainier National Park

Date: April 12, 2016
Contact: Kelsea Holbrook, 360-569-6501

Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Randy King announces that the park is preparing for the annual spring opening of park areas and facilities. In addition, the park will celebrate National Park Week April 16-24 with waivers for all entry fees, and a variety of events and activities. Mount Rainier is planning a variety of programs to celebrate the Centennial of the National Park Service! Events and activities will be regularly updated on the park's event calendar and on social media.

The exceptionally low snow of 2015 has been replaced with a more normal snowpack at the park for 2016. Therefore, visitors can expect opening schedules to more closely parallel normal snow conditions. As a reminder, all dates are projections only, and can change with conditions. In addition, as facilities and access routes are dewinterized, unforeseen challenges (such as unexpected winter season damage to infrastructure) may result in limited visitor services or changes to projected opening dates. The park's summer workforce will begin arriving in late spring to provide essential visitor safety and public service operations.

Mount Rainier National Park –2016 Projected Opening Dates
Dates with an asterisk (*) may be earlier, depending on conditions

Roads (first day openings will occur at 8:00 am)

• Longmire to Paradise (open 24 hours) - Friday, April 15
• Westside Road to Dry Creek - Friday, April 29*
• Cayuse Pass (SR 123) - Friday, April 29*
• White River Road to White River Campground - Monday, May 16*
• Ricksecker Point Road - Monday, May 16
• Chinook Pass (SR 410) - Friday, May 20*
• Stevens Canyon Road - Friday, May 27
• Paradise Valley Road - Friday, June 24
• Sunrise Road from White River - Friday, July 1
• Mowich Lake Road - Friday, July 1

Visitor Information Centers

• Longmire Museum - Open now, (closed May 31 –June 14)
• Jackson Visitor Center (daily operations) - Saturday, May 7
• Longmire Wilderness Information Center - Friday, May 27
• White River Wilderness Information Center - Friday, May 27
• Ohanapecosh Visitor Center - Wednesday, June 22
• Sunrise Visitor Center - Friday, July 1

Campgrounds &Picnic Areas (first day openings will occur at 8:00 am)

• Cougar Rock Campground &Picnic Area - Friday, May 20
• Ohanapecosh Campground - Friday, May 20
• Box Canyon Picnic Area &Restrooms - Friday, May 27
• Paradise Picnic Area - Friday, June 17
• White River Campground - Friday, June 24

Lodging

• National Park Inn at Longmire - Open year round
• Paradise Inn - Friday, May 20

For lodging reservations at the National Park Inn and Paradise Inn, call 360-569-2275 or visit www.mtrainierguestservices.com. For information on the range of services available in the communities surrounding Mount Rainier, visit these websites: www.visitrainier.com, www.mt-rainier.com, www.mtrainierguestservices.com, www.minerallake.com, www.staycrystal.com, www.discoverlewiscounty.com, www.destinationpackwood.com.

Park information, updates, and the Mount Rainier webcams are posted on the park's official website.

• Get additional information and updates by joining the Mount Rainier community on Facebook: facebook.com/MountRainierNPS

• Find out breaking news and road status updates through Mount Rainier's Twitter feed: twitter.com/MountRainierNPS

• Explore the park and behind-the-scenes operations with our videos on YouTube: youtube.com/MountRainierNPS

• Share your own photos of Mount Rainier with other visitors in the Mount Rainier Flickr group: flickr.com/groups/MountRainierNPS

www.nps.gov