Mount Rainier and the Nisqually River basin (bottom) are seen from Ricksecker Point in Mount Rainier National Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Officials at Mount Rainier National Park on Thursday announced a shift to winter operations to prepare for snowy weather conditions and recreational opportunities.
Many of the roads in the park are closed to vehicles for the winter, but much of it is still open. However, while park officials are still welcoming visitors, they encourage careful planning and knowledge of personal limits.
The Paradise snowplay area is not yet open. Officials require a certain amount of snowpack before the area is opened to protect the visitors and avoid damage to the meadows below. Updates on the area’s status will be made in the future.
The Longmire area will be open seven days a week, unless a major storm requires it to close. The Longmire Museum will be open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and will provide general park information, winter activity guidance, backcountry permits and Discover Your Northwest books and maps for sale. The National Park Inn will also be open through the winter and offers snowshoe and ski rentals.
At Paradise, the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center is open only on weekends 10 a.m.-4:15 p.m. It will be open for the holidays on Nov. 26-27 and Dec. 23-Jan. 3.
Ranger-guided snowshoe walks at Paradise are scheduled to run Dec. 23 through March 27, 2016. The walk will be offered on weekends and holiday periods when the visitor center is open, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Each walk will be two hours long. Signups are filled on a first-come, first served basis, which begin an hour before each walk. Warm winter clothing is required. Sunglasses, water and sunscreen are recommended. Group reservations are optional. Walk routes and times may be adjusted depending on weather patterns.
The main gate at the Nisqually entrance at the southwest side of the park will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unless hazardous conditions require otherwise. The gate on the road between Longmire and Paradise is closed nightly to ensure visitor and staff safety, with uphill access closing at 4 p.m. Rangers and road crew staff will evaluate the road, weather and avalanche conditions each morning to determine if it is safe to open the road above Longmire.
The standard open hours of this road are from 9 a.m-5 p.m. with daily road opening/closing updates posted to Twitter. Follow the feed at twitter.com/MountRainierNPS
