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Contact: Mount Rainier Media Line, 360-569-6510
Winter weather brought heavy snow to Mount Rainier over the last several days, forcing the closure of the gate at the Nisqually Entrance near Ashford. The closure began on Sunday, January 12th, and will continue while hazardous road and parking conditions exist.
The heavy snow load on branches continues to cause trees to fall along the seven miles of road between Nisqually Entrance and Longmire. Each day the road crew spends several hours cutting a path the width of one vehicle through the fallen trees. The road crew has also been key to safely evacuating staff and visitors from Longmire, with snowplows leading convoys out of the park.
With the forecasted winter weather pattern, the park’s goal is to re-establish safe administrative access to Longmire first, which is expected to take several days due to significant tree fall on the main entrance road. Additional wind and tree fall would delay that work. Once administrative access is re-established, crews will begin clearing the full width of the road to Longmire and all parking areas for public use. Paradise is expected to remain closed while crews focus on access to Longmire first.
For daily updated on the winter road status visit @MountRainierNPS on Twitter (account not required). Check the park web cameras to see current conditions.
Last updated: January 15, 2020