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Opening Roads In Mount Rainier National Park: The Good And The Bad

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By NPT Staff - March 16th, 2015

Well, with spring soon to arrive, there's good news, and not so good news, regarding the opening of roads through Mount Rainier National Park. 

The good news is that the Washington State Department of Transportation currently expects to have the road over 4,675-foot-high Cayuse Pass, on the east side of the park at the junction of State Routes 123 and 410, open on March 27, with 5,432-foot-high Chinook Pass, which brings in park traffic from the east over State Route 410, to open a week later, on April 3. If both those plans come to be, it will mark the opening of those routes sooner than they historically have been ready for traffic.

The not-so-good news is that a landslide has closed the Stevens Canyon Road in the southeastern corner of the park, north of the Ohanapecosh Ranger Station. Some of the rocks that came down across the road were said to be 25 feet in diameter. Park officials estimated that it would take until the Memorial Day Weekend to get the debris cleared and the road reopened.

 

Comments

Submitted by tahoma on March 16, 2015 - 8:41am.

Also good news is that the paved Skate Creek Road (USFS #52) has been open all winter between Packwood and Ashford.  This provides the shortest alternative between Paradise and  the east side of the park while the Stevens Canyon Road remains closed.  The bad news is that you may be subject to ongoing road construction delays between the (SW) Nisqually entrance and Paradise through this summer.


Submitted by Megaera on March 16, 2015 - 6:14pm.

Wow.  I've been living near Mt. Rainier for 22 years, and I can't remember any year Cayuse and Chinook Passes have been open that early.  Can't say I'm surprised, though, given the miniscule snowpack the Cascades acquired this year.

So is there an estimated date for Sunrise yet?


Submitted by tahoma on March 23, 2015 - 9:24pm.

The 2015 Rainier road openings have been announced:

 

http://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/news/opening-schedules-2015.htm

 

Note that the Cayuse Pass date has been pushed back to April 3rd. Unfortunately Megaera, Sunrise is not 'projected' to open until June 5th, which might be past peak flower season this dry year.


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