Mount Rainier National Park Ready to Open Sunrise For Visitors

Sunrise, naturally, catches the early morning sun at Mount Rainier National Park. NPS photo.

If you're not interested in heading to Paradise, you can always go to Sunrise at Mount Rainier National Park. Located on the volcano's eastern flanks, the Sunrise area opens for the summer tomorrow, July 3.

The past winter's heavy snowfall prevented the area from opening earlier this summer, but park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga says the road to Sunrise, the Sunrise Lodge, Snack Bar and Visitor Center will open to the public tomorrow. However, keep in mind that there's still quite a bit of snow up there -- 3 to 10 feet in places, and, not surprisingly, trails in the area are generally inaccessible.

While the White River Campground is also scheduled to open tomorrow, silt from the heavy snowmelt that is occurring with the warm weather is clogging the water system and park maintenance staff are hoping to have the system operating and tested by July 3rd. For updates on the status of White River Campground, visitors can call the park at 360-569-2211.

Mowich Lake Road is open to the Paul Peak Trailhead. Up to 8 feet of snow remains on the road beyond Paul Peak.