WA's Mount Rainier introducing timed entry reservations

Mt. Rainier National Park now requires reservations

Celebrated by some, criticized by plenty of others—it's been one day since Mt. Rainier National Park launched its new reservation system.

ASHFORD, Wash. - Timed entry reservations have been introduced at Mount Rainier National Park in an effort to cut down on wait times, congestion and to better preserve the park's ecosystem.

Available booking blocks are in May, June and July.

You can still enter the park without a timed entry reservation — you just need a park pass or need to pay the entry fee.

Reservations can be made on Recreation.gov.

HOW IT WORKS

Starting at the end of May, timed entry reservations will be required at the Paradise Corridor and the Sunrise Corridor from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each corridor will require a separate reservation.

"We have a huge influx of people coming out to Mt. Rainier for the first time," said Mount Rainier National Park spokesperson, Kevin Bacher. "It's not so much that we have a problem of too many visitors, it's that we have too many visitors all at once."

Bacher explained that the new system is not set in stone. They are trying it out as a pilot program.

"A lot of this is a test to see what works well for us, but we’ve learned a lot from other national parks that have been through this," said Bacher.

Timed entry reservations are good for a single day, per vehicle, and are required in addition to an entrance fee or park pass.

Reservations at Paradise Corridor are required from May 24 through Sept. 2. Ones at Sunrise start July 3 and run through Sept. 2. You don't need a timed reservation if you have a service reservation (like staying at park lodging or camping or having a special use wilderness permit).

"So, the idea of this is trying to spread visitation out throughout the day instead of concentrating it in the middle of the day," explained Bacher. "There’s a lot of productive time after 3 o’clock. The evenings are beautiful at Mt. Rainier National Park and of course, in summertime, the sun doesn’t set until 9 p.m."

A portion of timed entry reservations will be available 90 days or approximately three months in advance in blocks.

Last spring, a 200+ page draft of a Corridor Draft Management Plan and environmental assessment. One of the proposed plans involved a timed entry reservation system.

WHAT DO FORMER PARK RANGERS THINK OF IT?

Retired Park Ranger Bill Wade offered his two cents on the pivot to reservations. Wade worked at Mount Rainier from 1967 to 1970.

"I think there’s probably going to be a fair amount of disappointment," said Wade. "When people either from other countries or even, you know, in this country don’t have access to the ways to make reservations or don’t know about it and they arrive there."

This is a first for Mount Rainier National Park, but not a first for the park service. Similar time-based reservation systems are already in the works at other popular parks.

"The timed entry at Arches-- there was a lot of initial negative response from businesses in Moab and the same was true in Rocky Mountain when they did some of that there," remarked Wade.

According to Wade, those gateway community businesses changed their tune once they experienced the benefits of the new program.

"I think overall it’s been positive," said Wade. "It does tend to create happier visitors and it doesn’t impact the businesses very much."

Wade believes the limitations on Mount Rainier visits could impact other national parks in our region like North Cascades and Olympic.

"I think that they will see a little bit of spinoff from limitations in Mount Rainier," predicted Wade. "I’m sure there are places in Olympic that are starting to feel crowded and it might not be very long before they have to institute some limitations as well."