Winter access to Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park will only be on weekends, and no sledding will be allowed in the park this winter/Rebecca Latson file
Paradise will have to wait this winter at Mount Rainier National Park, where officials say staffing limitations mean the iconic destination will only be accessible on weekends. Additionally, when Paradise is open sledding will not be allowed.
In a press release Tuesday the park announced that the Longmire area will continue to be open seven days a week barring any major storm events, but that access to Paradise for now would only be on weekends.
“Mount Rainier National Park offers terrific winter recreational opportunities and making this access change will help visitors make plans knowing that weather permitting, the road to Paradise will be open on weekends when the most visitation typically occurs,” said Mount Rainier Superintendent Greg Dudgeon. “The park did not make this decision lightly, but safety is at the forefront of everything we do. We believe these winter access changes are the safest choice for our staff and visitors during the winter season.”
The park has had challenges hiring for utility operators, custodial crew, roads crew (plow operators), and with the visitor and resource protection staff, who are the folks in the park that respond first to emergency medical needs and search and rescue operations.
Daily snowplowing will continue seven days a week between the Nisqually Entrance and Longmire. Snowplow operators will also attempt to plow the 12 miles of road to Paradise to a minimum level throughout the week to limit snow accumulation and make road access more attainable on the weekends, the release said. While this effort will allow park employees with appropriate equipment to access the area in emergencies, minimal weekday plowing and staffing levels will not be sufficient to allow safe public access.
The sledding runs at Paradise also will not open this year due to staffing shortages, the release said, and sledding is not permitted elsewhere in the park. Winter camping at Paradise will be available Saturday nights only, conditions permitting. More information about Paradise winter access is available on the park website.
Winter recreation access on the east side of the park remains unchanged. State Routes 410 and 123 are closed to vehicles at the northeast, east, and southeast park boundaries. The east side of the park is open for visitor use throughout the winter, including overnight winter camping with a valid permit. State Route 410 from the north park boundary and White River Road are open to snowmobiles up to the White River Campground.
Last week the park reopened the Carbon River area to parking after recent road repairs stabilized access. The National Park Inn and Longmire General Store remain open daily for equipment rentals, food, and beverages. Information on winter activities within the park and nearby areas outside the park is available on the park website.
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Would have been nice if the kind gentleman who sold me a lifetime pass today at the Nisqually Entrance to the park had mentioned this little detail. Will you be reducing your taxpayer-funded budget since you're so significantly reducing the taxpayer's access to the park? Rhetorical question, of course.
Thanks for sharing, Debra; sorry about the NP$ ripoff!
Mount Rainier has about 125 permanent employees, according to their website.
Say their pay averages $3000/month each; it's probably more...
There are also 175 seasonals, most, but not all, off in the winter.
So it seems having the road to Paradise plowed almost daily, but closed two-thirds of them because of "insufficient staff" costs the US taxpayer almost half a million bucks each winter month?? And that's with only two geomorphologists!
Given this park management's history of apparently being bribed by concessioners, it should be no surprise if the guide services' winter seminars are exempt from this lockout:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mount-rainier-park-ex-official...
Former NPS worker- the reason the road crew is understaffed? Marijuana. You have to be sober to be a CDL operater working for the govt plowing the roads and doing the heavy equipment work. And the simple fact that you can make far more in the private sector working the jobs. Seasonal workers typically do not do the snow removal operations in the winter as they are generally full time employees with a CDL who are operating some serious equipment.
That said- have at it- plenty of jobs at usajobs gov. Just be sure to study hard for your urine test
The issue is the budget. The nps workforce has shrunken dramatically in the past decade due to static budgets and pay that is far lower than most of the federal government. It's axiomatic in federal government circles that land management employees are paid far less than "normal feds". Not sure why that is except for maybe really inept and exploitative leadership
Anon - Budget is not the issue. Congressional funding of the NPS was nearly 50% higher in 2022 than 2012 and that doesnt include the massive increase in fees that to a large extent never leave the parks. Fees of which I have still not yet been able to find an accounting.
Your article mentions Jonathan Jarvis, NPS director at the time. Later, Jarvis resigned after his own ethics questions arose. Now the Jarvises are advocating for an independent NPS! Gee, I wonder why?
The article does not mention either Jarvis, and Jon Jarvis did not resign due to the ethics investigation. He left at the end of the Obama administration.
'Nice little park you got there, be a shame if you couldn't access it'.
Please sign this petition if you are concerned about this bureaucratic extortion:
https://www.change.org/p/restore-mount-rainier-weekday-winter-access/