Mount Rainier park closes road from Longmire to Paradise on weekdays. Here is what’s open
The National Park Service announced that it is closing road access from Longmire to Paradise on Mondays through Fridays for the remainder of winter, effective immediately, due to major staffing shortages.
Although the road to Paradise is blocked off on weekdays, access to the entire park will remain open every day of the week. Visitors can still access Paradise by foot via the Wonderland Trail, which connects Longmire to Paradise Valley Road. However, the park notes that taking this path requires a “high level of skill with winter terrain and navigation,” according to its website’s Paradise Winter Access FAQ.
Camping at Paradise will only be allowed Saturday nights and when 5 feet of snow covers the ground. The Cougar Rock campground will only be open for Paradise overflow camping. Camping is allowed in most areas of the park with a wilderness permit once there is enough snow on the ground.
The gates at the Longmire to Paradise road open to vehicles at 9 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The uphill gate closes at 3 p.m. while the downhill gate shuts at 4 p.m.
Park access
Much of the park’s remaining roads and passes are closed for the winter season. Besides the road to Paradise, the only open paths are the paths from the Nisqually Entrance to Longmire and Carbon River Road, which is only accessible by foot or bicycle.
The Nisqually and Carbon River entrances – located in the southwest and northwest edges of the park respectively – are the only two entrances open to the public by vehicle during the winter season. The openings at Stevens Canyon in the southeast and White River in the northeast are closed.
Additionally, all vehicles that drive on the open roads must carry a tire chain. This rule applies to all vehicles.
The park is open 24 hours a day. Anyone who wants to enter must have a park pass or pay an entrance fee.
For more information on closures due to weather, the park’s Twitter account provides daily updates on park operations.
Staff shortage
The park states on its Paradise FAQ page that critical positions, such as emergency services and search and rescue teams, are understaffed.
“There are several challenges in recruiting new employees including finding people with the skill set necessary for some of our positions, the remote location of the park, and local housing costs and availability,” the park service states in the thread.
The Mount Rainier park service advertised open job positions on its Twitter account Monday. Multiple positions for park ranger, maintenance worker and project manager are listed on USAJOBS.
