If you are planning to visit Mount Rainier this Summer (2025), be prepared for changes, constructions and impacts from budget and staffing cuts.

Rainier Meadows. Photo Credit Jonathan Miske.

Closures

Visiting Mt Rainier in 2025. Open an interactive map here.

Starting in April of 2025, the road that provides access to the two northeastern entrances to the park: Carbon River and Mowich is closed. Access to these entrances was lost when the difficult decision was made to close the historic Fairfax Bridge over the Carbon River on SR 165 because cracks and buckling in the structure made it unsafe even for passenger cars. The bridge, which opened in 1921, is decades past its 75-year life expectancy and is one of 315 bridges in the state more than 80 years old. A temporary detour has been established through adjacent private forestry land, but only to access homes on the other side of the bridge. The department of transportation is currently working to identify a solution: options are to replace the bridge, reroute SR 165 to the east or west of the river, or keep the bridge closed and not replace it. The Carbon River Ranger Station will be staffed this summer to support people accessing the area on foot from the Wonderland Trail that circles Mount Rainier. The Fairfax bridge closure also impacts the USFS’s Evans Creek OHV area, which will remain inaccessible until a solution is found. These entrances, the only ones serving the north-western side of the park, were used abut 5% of park visitors and provided a less crowded option to the Sunrise and Paradise areas.

In addition to the long term closures in the northeast corner of the park, several other changes will impact visitor experience:

Ohanapecosh Campground and Visitor Center will be closed for the season.
Pavement preservation work in the Paradise Corridor will result in single lane closures and up to 30 minute wait times starting in May 27 through mid-September.
Loops in Cougar Rock Campground will be closed during a two week period in August to facilitate the paving preservation work.
There will be road work on SR 123 along the east side of the park from late May to September 1.

Timed Entry Permits

Mount Rainier introduced timed entry permits in 2024 to address over-crowding and long waits to enter the park. For 2025, timed entry permits will be required at the White River entrance on the road to Sunrise from 7am-5pm from July 11th to the end of the season. Permits area available now for July, with August and September permits available later in the season. No permit will be needed to enter the Nisqually Corridor between the Nisqually and Stevens Canyon Entrances that provides access to the Paradise area.

More information about the timed permits and a link to purchase here.

Impact of Budget Cuts and Staffing Changes

Visitors should also be prepared for the impact of staffing cuts. The National Parks have been instructed to maintain visitor services, but their budgets have been cut, staff have been fired, and there was been chaos during the critical period when seasonal staff was being onboarded. Seasonal offers were cancelled and, in some cases, restored, but only after people had changed their plans, leaving park staff struggling to rehire critical works. Grants have been cancelled or delayed for the many volunteer groups that help maintain trails and facilities. These cut backs may impact all aspects of the visitor experience, from how often bathrooms are cleaned, to how quickly Search and Rescue can respond to an emergency and how well the trails are maintained. Please be patient with the National Park staff, they are doing their best in a very difficult time. Simply declaring that visitor services must not be reduced does not guarantee service when staff and funding is reduced.