Mt. Rainier Nat. Park partially open this weekend

ASHFORD — Many areas within Mount Rainier National Park will be accessible to visitors beginning Memorial Day weekend, despite 13 feet of snow on the ground at Paradise, according to a press release from the National Park Service.

Preparing for the season involves plowing winter snow from park roads, cleaning up the roadsides and ditches, placing information and regulatory signs along the roadways of newly opened areas and starting up water and utility systems. Park visitors should be prepared for snow-covered trails at high elevations; only some low-elevation trails are free of snow at this time. Hiking safety information can be found on the park’s website.

Some locations will have a delayed opening due to the lingering heavy winter snowpack, including Tipsoo Lake and Chinook Pass. Impacts from the significant rain event in November 2021 caused substantial damage to the pedestrian suspension bridge on the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail; that trail will remain closed at the junction with the Eastside Trail. The park’s highest elevation developed areas, including Sunrise, the White River Campground, and Mowich Lake will reopen later in the season, the release said.