Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park covers 236,381 acres around a 14,410-foot volcano in the Washington Cascades, and 97% of it is designated wilderness. Congress established it on 2 March 1899. The Park Service calls Rainier the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States. In 2025 the park had 1,635,342 recreation visits.

Late October is the hinge between seasons here. The high roads have closed, fires are still listed as active in the north, and the gate to Paradise has begun to shut. We checked the figures below on 28 October 2026 on the park's own pages and alerts, the state transport department's, Recreation.gov and NOAA's normals.

What does a car pay at Mount Rainier, and how long are the queues?

Mount Rainier charges $30 per car for seven days, $25 per motorcycle and $15 per person on foot or bicycle. Children under 16 enter free, and there is no one-day pass. The park does not accept cash: entrance stations take cards only.

Cash buyers can buy the $30 car pass in advance at Ashford Creek Pottery, Ashford Valley Grocery, Ashford General Store and Whittaker Mountaineering, on the way to the Nisqually Entrance. The Packwood Visitor Center and the Wilkeson Historical District sell it too. Washington's Discover Pass covers state parks only, not this one.

Mount Rainier is not on the 2026 list of eleven parks with a $100 surcharge for non-residents, so visitors from abroad pay exactly what Americans pay. A week at Rainier and Olympic National Park costs $60 per car in all. The $250 non-resident annual pass pays off only on a trip that adds surcharge parks; our guide to national park fees for international visitors lists them.

The park's own $55 annual pass and the fee-free day on 11 November apply to US citizens and residents only. You need no entrance reservation or timed entry in 2026, unlike the 2024 pilot, which covered the Paradise and Sunrise corridors.

July and August brought 859,164 visits to Mount Rainier in 2025, about 52.5% of the year's total. August was the busiest month, with 430,922, just ahead of July. In 2024 July was busier than August. February was the quietest month in 2025, with 12,733 visits.

On the busiest summer weekends the wait at the Nisqually and White River entrances can be more than an hour. The car parks at Paradise and Sunrise fill by late morning. When Sunrise is full, cars are held at the White River Entrance and let in as spaces free up. The park suggests the south-east entrance near Packwood on busy July and August weekends.

The Park Service gives two different arrival windows. Its announcement of 25 February 2026 advises arriving before 7 a.m. or after 4 p.m., and on weekdays. Its hours and congestion pages say before 10 a.m. or after 2:30 p.m.

Is the road past the Longmire gate open to Paradise?

The road from the Nisqually Entrance to Longmire is open all year. The 12 miles from Longmire up to Paradise sit behind a gate the Park Service opens day by day. On 27 October 2026 the park's alert said the gate at Longmire was closed for the night. The same alert said it was not projected to open on Wednesday 28 October.

The nightly closures began on 29 October 2026, according to the park's road page. On a typical winter day, conditions permitting, the gate opens at 9 a.m., the uphill gate closes at 4 p.m. and the downhill gate at 5 p.m. Drivers should leave Paradise by 4:30 p.m.

The gate can also open late, close early or stay shut all day. The park asks visitors to check its alerts after 4 p.m. the day before and again after 7 a.m., and its recorded road line is 360-569-2211. When the car parks at Paradise fill, rangers may let one car up for each car that comes down.

The Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at Paradise has opened from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays only since 29 October, and it closes on Thanksgiving, 26 November. The Longmire Museum is open every day, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in October and November.

In the winter of 2024–25 cars could reach Paradise on only four days a week, Friday to Monday, because of staffing. The park had published no schedule for the winter of 2026–27 by 28 October.

How much snow does Paradise get, and when are chains required?

Paradise averages about 640 inches of snow a year, according to the park's Paradise page; its FAQ says about 630 and its trail page 700 or more. The record is 1,122 inches in the winter of 1971–72, a world record until 1998. The least was 266 inches in 2014–15.

Every vehicle in the park must carry tyre chains from 1 November to 1 May, four-wheel drive included and regardless of tyre type or weather. Passenger cars under 10,000 pounds may use autosocks instead when "Chains Required" signs go up. There is no petrol and no electric-car charging anywhere in the park.

Paradise is the park's main winter area, for snowshoeing, sledding and cross-country skiing on ungroomed trails. The ground there is usually snow-covered for the winter by Thanksgiving, and the snow-free season runs from about mid-July to late September. The Longmire General Store rents snowshoes.

Ranger-led snowshoe walks had not started for 2026–27 on 28 October. They usually run on Saturdays and Sundays from late December through March: 1.5 miles in two hours, for up to 25 people aged 8 or older. Winter camping at Paradise opens only once there are five feet of snow, with a permit, and pets are not allowed on trails or on the snow.

Which roads and areas of Mount Rainier are closed this autumn?

Mount Rainier's winter closures began on 19 October 2026 and run to 30 April 2027, according to the park's alert. They cover Paradise Valley Road, Ricksecker Point Road, Stevens Canyon Road, White River Road and Sunrise Road. Stevens Canyon Road, the link between Paradise and the east side, closed at 7 a.m. on 26 October.

State Routes 410 over Chinook Pass and 123 over Cayuse Pass were still open on the park's road table of 25 October. The park estimates that they will close for the season in mid- to late November. In winter, you reach the east side of the park by I-90 and US 12, not through the park.

Reflection Lakes, 3 miles east of Paradise on Stevens Canyon Road, is out of reach by car. Box Canyon, a gorge 180 feet deep, closed for the season on 26 October. Westside Road was still open on 25 October, with its closure date not yet set. Cars must park south of the barricade at Dry Creek, because the road runs through an active geohazard zone.

The entire Ohanapecosh developed area, on the park's south-east side, is closed to cars, walkers and cyclists for all of 2026. The project rehabilitates 185 campsites and nine restroom buildings and replaces the wastewater system. The visitor centre and campground are closed with it.

The Park Service gives two end dates for the work. Its construction page, updated on 19 October 2026, says the work should continue through February 2027. Its Ohanapecosh and campground pages say through November 2026.

The Grove of the Patriarchs Trail, a 1.1-mile walk, has been closed since a flood in November 2021 damaged its suspension bridge. The conditions page says construction of a new bridge is due to begin in 2028. The construction page says the work will happen in the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

The Grove car park and toilets are open, and so are the Eastside and Silver Falls trails from it. You can reach Silver Falls out and back from there, or from the Cowlitz Divide trailheads on Stevens Canyon Road and SR 123. The loop through the campground is closed.

What have the 2026 fires closed around Sunrise?

Sunrise, at 6,400 feet, is the highest point in the park that a car can reach, and in 2026 fire closed it before the snow did. The Grand Park 2 Fire was reported on 7 August, 3 miles north of the Sunrise Visitor Center. By 9 August it covered over 300 acres with no containment, and Sunrise and White River Campground were closed.

On 19 October the park still listed the Wonderland Complex Fires as active. Of its three fires, Garda Falls had grown to about 150 acres, while West Fork and Pigeon showed smoke but no recent movement. The park's wildfire alert runs to 30 November 2026, and the park has given no containment date.

The fire page lists these closures until further notice: the Wonderland Trail from the Carbon River suspension bridge to Frozen Lake near Sunrise, and the Northern Loop Trail from Berkeley Park.

Grand Park and the Huckleberry Creek Trail are closed, as are the Sunrise trails north of Sourdough Ridge, including the Mount Fremont Trail. The list also takes in seven backcountry camps, among them Mystic Lake and Lake James. The park has lifted the parkwide fire ban that began on 26 June.

In a normal year the Sunrise road opens in late June or early July and closes in late September or early October. The Sunrise Day Lodge sells food but has no rooms. From 2027 to late 2029 the Fryingpan Creek Bridge on White River Road is being replaced. Expect one-lane traffic, delays of up to 30 minutes and a shorter season east of the bridge, with the Summerland trailhead closed throughout.

Why can't cars reach Carbon River and Mowich Lake?

Carbon River and Mowich Lake, in the park's north-west corner, have had no public road access since 22 April 2025. On that date the state transport department permanently closed the Fairfax Bridge on State Route 165. The single-lane bridge, 103 years old, stands three miles south of Carbonado, outside the park, and the emergency detour is not open to the public.

The department published its final study on 8 January 2026. Design and environmental review now cover two options: a new bridge just to the north, or removing the bridge and keeping the road closed. About $7 million has been set aside. The Park Service says it does not know when or if the bridge will reopen.

Carbon River Road inside the park has been closed to cars since a flood in 2006 and is used as a trail. Mowich Lake, the largest and deepest lake in the park, has a walk-in campground of 13 tent pads at 4,929 feet that needs a wilderness permit. Backpackers can still walk in on the Wonderland Trail, about 27 miles from Westside Road. Fire has closed the 19-mile approach from Sunrise.

Where do you sleep inside Mount Rainier after October?

The National Park Inn at Longmire, at 2,700 feet, is the only lodging in Mount Rainier open all year. It has 25 rooms, a dining room and a general store, and on 28 October 2026 it was open. Paradise Inn, built in 1916, and every campground in the park were closed.

Rainier Guest Services runs both inns. Campgrounds have no RV hookups and no showers, and a site holds six people and two tents. On 28 October Cougar Rock's 2027 dates were not yet open for booking on Recreation.gov. Outside the park, the Park Service points to Ashford, Elbe, Packwood, Enumclaw and Mineral Lake.

Which trails start at Paradise and Longmire?

Paradise's trails start at the Jackson Visitor Center, and in summer they cross the meadows below the mountain. The Skyline Trail, the main loop, climbs 1,700 feet in 5.5 miles and takes about four and a half hours. Snow lingers on these trails well into June or even July.

The distances in the table are the park's own. Panorama Point, 2 miles up the Skyline Trail, has a toilet and, on a clear day, a view to Mount Hood. Pets, bicycles and drones are not allowed on any trail, and the park suggests groups of no more than 12.

The Wonderland Trail circles the mountain for 93 miles, and the Park Service says most people need at least ten days. Climbers face more than 9,000 feet of ascent to the summit by any route. In 2022, 9,530 people attempted it and about half reached the top; registration costs $82 a person.

How much wetter is Paradise than Seattle?

Paradise gets about three times Seattle's precipitation, 116.44 inches a year against 39.34, though NOAA marks the Paradise figure as estimated. Longmire, about 2,700 feet lower, gets 82.57 inches and, provisionally, 143 inches of snow. July is the driest month at all three places.

The table gives NOAA's 1991 to 2020 average highs and lows. August is the warmest month at Paradise, with an average high of 64°F, and Paradise has no days at all over 90°F. December is its wettest month, with 18.92 inches.

The Park Service notes that the east side of the park, around Ohanapecosh, is somewhat drier and sunnier when Paradise and Longmire are wet and foggy. Snow stays at 5,000 to 8,000 feet well into mid-July.

How dangerous is Mount Rainier's volcano to visitors?

Mount Rainier is an episodically active volcano, about 500,000 years old, whose last eruption is estimated at about 1,000 years ago. The Park Service calls it the tallest volcano and fifth highest peak in the contiguous United States. Its 28 major glaciers cover about 30 square miles.

The Emmons Glacier has the largest area, at 4.3 square miles. The Carbon Glacier is the longest and thickest in the contiguous United States, at 5.7 miles long and 700 feet thick.

For visitors, the Park Service's hazard advice is mostly about the rivers. Longmire, Carbon River and the campgrounds at Cougar Rock, Ohanapecosh and White River are all vulnerable to geohazards, it says. If the water rises fast or the ground shakes near a river, move quickly to ground about 160 feet above it.

Warning sirens stand at Cougar Rock Campground, Longmire and the Nisqually Entrance. The park's monitoring should give days or weeks of warning of an eruption. A standing alert also warns visitors about crossing the park's rivers.

How do you reach the Nisqually Entrance from Seattle?

Mount Rainier's Nisqually Entrance, in the south-west corner, is the only way to Longmire and Paradise in winter. From Seattle the Park Service's route takes I-5 south, then SR 512 east, SR 7 south to Elbe, and SR 706 east through Ashford. Satellite navigation may send drivers to the wrong entrance, so enter 39000 State Route 706 E, Ashford, WA 98304.

The distances in the table are the park's own. By our own routing, Seattle–Tacoma International is about 68 miles from Ashford and 91 miles from Paradise. In winter the Park Service sends drivers from Yakima by US 12, SR 7, Elbe and Ashford, because the roads across the park are closed.

The speed limit is 35 mph in most of the park, on winding roads with narrow shoulders. The park's alert also warns of long queues at the south-west entrance on weekends. The park is on Pacific Time, and it is one of the places in our guide to Washington. The other national parks in Washington are North Cascades National Park and Olympic National Park.