Here’s how to weigh in on proposed reservations to visit Mount Rainier in peak season
If you are a fan of Mount Rainier National Park, you have through June 11 to weigh in on how to manage crowds there during peak summer season.
Lines of vehicles at the Nisqually entrance in recent years have left visitors waiting extended times just to reach the park’s gates.
As a result, park management is considering alternatives featuring reservations and/or some kind of shuttle service with possible implementation in the summer of 2024.
Changes would focus on access to both the White River to Sunrise Road Corridor and Nisqually to Paradise areas of the park to ease traffic congestion and crowding.
The proposals for the park’s Nisqually to Paradise Corridor Draft Management Plan were explained at a public virtual meeting May 3.
The options, as outlined in the NPS draft, include:
▪ Alternative 1: No action and continue operations as they are now.
▪ Alternative 2 (NPS preferred option): The Nisqually to Paradise Corridor would be actively managed by a reservation system for private vehicles at the Nisqually and Stevens Canyon entrances and also at the White River entrance. Paradise and other key destinations would continue to be accessed primarily by private vehicle. According to NPS, “The frequency, timing, and seasonality of the reservation system would be adaptively managed based on observed conditions and effectiveness of the system to meet desired conditions.” Other transportation corridors may be added.
Visitor parking would be within designated lots. Overflow parking would be allowed on Upper Valley Road, “anticipated to accommodate approximately 70 vehicles as needed,” NPS states. Parking would be prohibited on Lower Valley Road except at trailheads. The Paradise picnic lot would be redesigned, shifting the number of spaces from about 220 to 260.
“This action would accommodate 800 vehicles at one time and 2,400 people at one time,” it added.
No new park-operated shuttles or transit offered in this plan.
▪ Alternative 3: Reservations would be required to access Paradise lots, and a shuttle would be provided from Cougar Rock picnic area parking lot to Paradise. Paradise and other key destinations would continue to be accessed primarily by private vehicle. Visitors without a Paradise reservation would be able to park at the Cougar Rock picnic area parking lot and ride to Paradise via shuttle. Shuttle might be operated by the National Park Service, a commercial services provider or a partnership organization. Parking reservations at Paradise would be included upon implementation, and reservations for parking at other locations in the park would be evaluated per monitoring. A reservation system for private vehicles would be implemented at the White River entrance during peak visitor use times.
The shuttle would initially be available on a first-come, first-served basis. If parking demand at Cougar Rock exceeds supply, the park would expand the parking reservation system to include the shuttle parking lot or might require a reservation for the shuttle. Parking would be within designated lots only. Overflow parking would not be allowed on Upper Valley Road or Lower Valley Road except at the Fourth Crossing and Lower Lakes Trailheads. Access to Paradise lots would be managed via reservation/permit system.
“This action would accommodate 730 vehicles at one time. Paradise would also be accessed via a shuttle from Cougar Rock, resulting in a total of 2,500 people at one time,” the plan notes.
Alternative 4: A system established at site level requiring a reservation to access Paradise parking lots and other areas of the park could be added per monitoring of indicators, according to the plan. Paradise would continue to be accessed primarily by private vehicle. A reservation system for private vehicles would be implemented at the White River entrance during peak visitor use times.
Fee booths at the Nisqually entrance “would be reconfigured to include two entrance booths in each lane (one in front of the other) while maintaining the current number of driving lanes,” according o NPS. No new park-operated shuttles are included.
Parking would be within designated lots only. Overnight-use parking would be permitted along Upper Valley Road, but roadside parking would not be allowed along Lower Valley Road except at the Fourth Crossing and Lower Lakes Trailheads. Access to the Paradise lots would be managed via a reservation system.
The plan notes, “This action would accommodate 730 vehicles at one time and 2,200 people at one time.”
As for the reservations, “During initial implementation, the system would be active during the peak season (approximately July 1st through Labor Day Monday) from approximately 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day,” according to the draft, “however, the season may be expanded to require reservations during weekends beginning on Memorial Day Weekend.”
According to NPS, “To be most helpful, your comments should address: the purpose and need for action; the environmental issues/impact topics analyzed; your opinions on the alternatives, including mitigation measures which could reduce potentially harmful effects; and the information used to describe the affected environment and environmental consequences.”
Public comments will be accepted on the project website, parkplanning.nps.gov/NisquallyCorridorPlanEA through June 11.
