Crowds that gathered at Sunrise for Perseid meteor showers begged the question of whether Mount Rainier National Park needs a timed-entry reservation system/Rebecca Latson

I’ve been going back and forth with how I feel about timed reservations in the National Park System. I used one for my 2021 visit to Yosemite National Park in California and it seemed to work well. The park had plenty of visitors but to the outside viewer (me) I never experienced any congestions, I always found a parking spot and not too many people on the trails.

I haven’t heard anything horrendous about the timed-entry systems to Rocky Mountain or Glacier national parks. As a matter of fact, Zion National Park’s Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh, in a December 2022 address to the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, indicated visitor response has generally been positive regarding efforts to reduce national park congestion, including use of timed-entry systems.

So maybe it’s time Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state instituted a timed-entry system for the peak season. They’ve been seeking public comment on this issue. Perhaps a reservation system might have prevented the chaos of last weekend at the park’s Sunrise area during the peak Perseid meteor shower.

A recent kiro7.com news article reported one photographer’s experience during that stellar event. The photographer posted photos and recounted his experience on his Instagram account (@austin.james.jackson). Among other things, I read about people double- and triple-parked, bonfires in the fragile meadows, people with their lounge chairs in the meadows, one single law enforcement ranger placing warnings on illegally parked cars until he ran out.

Park officials told the station that, "Mount Rainier National Park’s night sky viewing is enjoyed responsibly by thousands of visitors every year and the majority of visitors follow posted guidance to stay on trails to avoid damaging the beautiful yet fragile alpine meadows. The recent Perseid meteor shower peak attracted many visitors at both Sunrise and Paradise. Impacts to the alpine meadows are currently being assessed, and the park is reviewing reports of damage to the Sunrise wildflower meadows during the evening activities. Alpine wildflowers have just a few weeks to grow and produce seeds, while also serving as food to pollinators and other animals. The plants’ roots, leaves and flowers can be destroyed by off-trail travel, and trampled plants may never return. Scars on the landscape can take decades to regrow due to the short growing season and harsh alpine climate.”

I was there, myself. But I didn’t get a parking spot, so I drove up, around, then back out of the park, at speeds of 5 mph or slower (in the Sunrise parking area) to keep from hitting people walking on the road. I can tell you every single legal parking spot was taken. Every illegal spot that a car could park was also taken, including along the narrow road at the Sunrise area, where cars were partially parked on the meadow edges.

Why did I not see other rangers out there? Is the park so underfunded that it cannot hire and have available enough staff to patrol at least the hotspots (Sunrise, Paradise, Reflection Lakes, Tipsoo Lake)? Is the park so unprepared for events like this, even though the Perseid meteor shower occurs every year?

Having cleaned the bathrooms at McDonald's back in the day, I felt sorry for those who had to clean the Sunrise bathrooms the next day, because I’m pretty sure without even looking that all the toilet paper was used up and all the trash cans overflowed. The following early morning (about 5 a.m.), I checked the Sunrise webcams to see loads of cars still parked there. Those crowds probably spent the night up there by choice or because they were surrounded by other parked cars and couldn’t get out. Did they start pooping and peeing out in the meadows when toilet paper in the bathrooms ran out?

"Aw Becky, you’re just all sour grapes because you and your little cameras couldn’t find a spot there."

No, I couldn’t find a spot that night. Had I been able to do so, I would have been photographing the chaos and you’d have read about it with pictures in the Traveler. Heck, I was just glad I was there the previous night and morning with my cameras for my star shots (which you’ll read about in a little future article).

And as for those meadows — they are fragile. That’s why there are all sorts of signs telling people to stick to the trail. For those of you who shrug your shoulders, roll your eyes, and say the meadows will grow back, I tell you it will take them a long time to do so. If you’ve hiked up there before, then you’ve seen signs that say “Keep Off – Meadow Repair.” Those signs have been there for years and that’s because it does take a long time for regrowth and not because park staff is lazy about pulling up old signs.

Mount Rainier was apparently not the only park with Perseid meteor shower visitor congestion. On Joshua Tree National Park’s Instagram and Facebook posts, they suggested people view the meteor showers “from the comfort of their own homes or on other public lands.” Really! Things got so bad that this national park was asking people to basically stay away. Like Mount Rainier, lines of cars were backed up for miles at Joshua Tree and “every conceivable parking spot was taken.”

Joshua Tree had its share of illegal parking, illegal camping and campfires, and overflowing trash. Maybe Joshua Tree needs a timed-entry system too?

Would a timed-entry system at Mount Rainier National Park solve everything? I doubt it, but with the cachet of visiting national parks on the rise, people not well-versed in park etiquette, and people not caring to be well-versed in park etiquette in this day and age, perhaps a reservation system is needed. Think of it as simply another reservation you’d need to make, along with your plane flight, rental car, and lodging. I’d need to do a little more planning myself to visit a national park that’s practically at my back door — OK, a two-hour drive away during the summer, 3+ hours in the winter.

Timed-entry systems are not without issues. Would a timed-entry system bar locals from being able to visit the park anytime they wished? Probably, which is unfortunate. Gone are the days when fewer people traveled to a national park unit on a whim. The 2016 National Park Service Centennial push (Opt Outside, Find Your Park) introduced the nation to these special swaths of public land. COVID created a socially-distanced, socially-isolated population yearning to get out of the house and breathe fresh air while restoring mental health and a semblance of sanity during the pandemic.

Yes, maybe it is time for Mount Rainier National Park to institute a timed-entry reservation. If it works, then maybe the next thing the National Park System should institute is a media blitz introducing the public to proper behavior in a national park.