SEATTLE — The National Park Service is seeking public feedback on potential entry changes at Mount Rainier National Park during peak visitation hours.
The proposal would involve timed entry at the Nisqually, Stevens Canyon and White River entrance stations. The park service said the changes are intended to address road and parking congestion, pedestrian safety and to minimize the impact on alpine meadows.
According to the National Park Service, from 2008 to 2021 annual visitation rose from 1.1 million visits per year to above 1.7 million visits, with 70% of visits occurring between July and September.
The park service said due to the high volume of visitors, wait times to enter through the Nisqually and White River stations can take more than an hour, leading to roadway congestion and ultimately parking in undesignated areas.
“After carefully considering the public feedback we received in 2020 and 2021 during this planning effort, we’ve identified a range of strategies to help our visitors,” said Superintendent Greg Dudgeon. “The majority of comments that we received were related to traffic congestion, parking shortages, and crowding and that is exactly what we are hoping to address with a timed-entry reservation system.”
The draft plan is available on the National Park Service website at parkplanning.nps.gov. The park service said comments may be submitted online by clicking on “open for comment," with comments being accepted through June 11.
A final decision will be made in 2023 with potential implementation proposed in summer 2024, according to the park service.