PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — By summer 2024, trips to Mt. Rainer National Park could require a lot more planning for visitors.
On April 26, the National Park Service announced that it was considering implementing a timed-entry reservation system to manage crowds during Mt. Rainier’s busiest months.
According to a press release, park visitation increased from 1.1 million visits per year in 2008 to more than 1.7 million visits per year in 2021. NPS officials say about 70% of those visits take place in the summer months, between July and September.
Additionally, NPS reports that visitors wait more than an hour to access the park through the Nisqually and White River entrances on high-volume days. The agency says this causes congestion inside and outside of the park, with the latter causing undesignated parking and putting pedestrian safety at risk.
NPS’ draft plan would focus on managing vehicle entry into popular areas of the park, such as Paradise and Sunrise. The agency says officials with Mt. Rainier National Park would prefer to launch a timed-entry reservation system at the Nisqually, Stevens Canyon and White River entrance stations during peak hours.
According to Superintendent Greg Dudgeon, the park asked for public feedback in 2020 and 2021 in an effort to improve the visitor experience.
“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,” Dudgeon said.
The park is asking the community to weigh in once again, through an online form that will be open through Sunday, June 11. There will also be a virtual meeting on Wednesday, May 3 at 4 p.m., in which the public can learn more about the park proposal.
NPS says the final decision will be made sometime this year and if approved, the timed-entry reservations could be implemented as soon as summer 2024.