Is Mount Rainier open in winter? Yes, by one road

Mount Rainier National Park is "open all year, 24 hours a day," in the Park Service's words, but by car it is open in winter through one entrance only: the Nisqually Entrance in the southwest corner, east of Ashford, about 63 road miles from Enumclaw, with Paradise about 80. Every road on the Enumclaw side shuts for the season: State Routes 410 and 123 over Cayuse Pass when the state closes them, the White River Road on a date the park announces each autumn, and the Carbon River and Mowich Lake roads, which have had no public access since the Fairfax Bridge closed in April 2025. Inside the park, the 12 miles from Longmire up to Paradise are gated every night from late October or early November, the gate typically opening at 9 a.m. and locking at 5 p.m., and as of October 2026 every vehicle, four-wheel drive included, must carry tire chains from November 1 to May 1.

Here is the part that surprises people on the plateau: the winter drive is barely longer than the summer one. By a public routing engine's measure, downtown Enumclaw to Paradise over Cayuse Pass and down Stevens Canyon Road is about 74 miles; the winter way around the far side of the mountain is about 80. What changes is everything else: a gate with office hours, a one-page flow chart the road crew works through each morning, and a weekly schedule that was different in each of the four winters from 2022 to 2026.

How do you get to Mount Rainier from Enumclaw in winter?

Drive around the mountain, not toward it. The routing engine's shortest line runs SR 410 to Buckley, SR 162 through Orting, the Orville and Kapowsin roads to SR 161 at Eatonville, Alder Cutoff Road to SR 7 at Elbe, and SR 706 through Ashford to the Nisqually Entrance: about 63 miles and, before snow or chains, a little under two hours. The Park Service's directions page warns that a GPS "may take you to the wrong entrance" of the park's five, and gives 39000 State Route 706 E, Ashford, as the address to enter for the entrance. From the entrance it is 6.5 miles to Longmire and 12 more, 25 minutes by the park's table, to Paradise at 5,400 feet. The park sells no gas.

What time does the Longmire gate open and close?

On the park's typical winter schedule the gate above Longmire opens at 9 a.m., closes to uphill traffic at 4 p.m. and closes downhill at 5, and the park says to leave Paradise by 4:30. The park's winter travel page adds the caveat that matters: "The gate can open late, close early, or remain closed for the day due to factors like weather, avalanche conditions, and road conditions." Each morning the road crew works through a one-page flow chart the park has posted since 2018, the Longmire-to-Paradise Winter Road Opening Matrix: a briefing, the Northwest Avalanche Center's forecast, and a hold if the avalanche danger is high or extreme at or below treeline, if avalanches have been seen, or if the staffing is short for the conditions. Nightly closures begin in late October or early November in a typical year, by the park's hours page, and from November 1 by its directions page; in 2026 they had ended by April 6, by the winter travel page.

Which days of the week is the road to Paradise open?

That has changed every winter since 2022. In the winter of 2022 to 2023 the road was open only on weekends; KUOW reported on December 1, 2022 that a park ranger, Terry Wildy, put it down to not having the staff to respond to emergencies. On November 8, 2023 the park announced Thursday through Monday access from November 15. For 2024 to 2025 it announced Fridays through Mondays from November 12, 2024. Then, with no announcement, the park ran the road seven days a week in the winter of 2025 to 2026, the Seattle Times reported on December 29, 2025, and the spokesperson it quoted, Terry Wildy, wrote in early December that every day had an equal chance of being open. As of October 13, 2026 no schedule for 2026 to 2027 has been posted; it will appear on the park's Alerts page and, in most years, in a news release.

Do you need chains at Mount Rainier in winter?

You must carry them every day from November 1 to May 1, whatever you drive and whatever the weather. The park's road status page puts it in capitals: "This requirement applies to ALL vehicles (including four-wheel drive), regardless of tire type or weather conditions." Whether they go on depends on the sign that day: traction tires advised, chains required except four-wheel drive, or chains required for all vehicles. The park's winter travel page accepts link, cable or plastic chains, and its tire chain FAQ state-approved alternatives; autosocks count for passenger vehicles under 10,000 pounds under Washington Administrative Code 204-24-035, and heavier vehicles must carry a second set. Studded tires are not chains, a point the studded tire guide on this site covers.

What is open at Paradise and Longmire in winter?

The park's hours page, dated October 5, 2026, lists the National Park Inn at Longmire as open, with breakfast from 7, lunch from noon and dinner from 4:30, and the Longmire General Store beside it open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through January 2027, with snowshoe rentals in winter. The Longmire Museum is open daily all year, closing at 4 p.m. by the 2025-26 Paradise sheet and 4:30 by the winter camping page; in winter it also issues climbing and wilderness permits, and the park's winter recreation page gives a Longmire information line, 360-569-6575, for snow questions.

At Paradise the Jackson Visitor Center keeps limited winter hours. As of October 2026 it is open Fridays through Mondays, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., until nightly gate closures begin, and the park's 2025-26 sheet had it Friday through Monday that winter, with 24-hour restrooms and an emergency phone at the upper lot. The Paradise Inn is generally open May through September only. Paradise gets about 53 feet of snow in an average year by the park's figures, charted year by year on this site, and the park's caption for the photograph above says an average year can bury the inn to its second-story windows.

Can you sled, snowshoe or camp at Paradise?

Sledding is allowed only at the official Paradise sledding area, and it has not opened for five winters running, the last opening being January 2021: the park's winter recreation page put the 2021-22 closure down to reduced staffing on its road crew, its release of November 29, 2022 said the runs would not open that winter, its releases say its staff were plowing instead in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and its winter recreation page, in a line dated November 21, 2025, says the area did not open for 2025-26. A 2017 release put the old threshold at five feet of snowpack. The 2026-27 decision will appear on the same page's "Sledding Status" line.

Ranger-guided snowshoe walks are usually on Saturdays and Sundays from late December through March, at 11 a.m. from the Jackson Visitor Center, with sign-up an hour ahead for up to 25 people aged eight and older, about 1.5 miles in two hours; the park provides the snowshoes, lists no fee, and says the 2025-26 walks are over. Winter camping needs a wilderness permit, five feet of snow at Paradise or two elsewhere, and a site 300 feet from plowed roads; no vehicle camping is allowed in the park in winter. Dogs are allowed in parking lots on a leash and nowhere on snow or trails.

What does Mount Rainier cost in winter?

The entrance fee does not change with the season. As of October 2026 the park's fees page lists $30 per private vehicle for seven days, $25 for a motorcycle, $15 for a walker or cyclist aged 16 or older, $55 for the park's annual pass and $80 for the resident America the Beautiful pass, cards only. The Park Service also publishes a short list of fee-free days each year; the 2026 list included Presidents Day, February 16, and Veterans Day, November 11, for US citizens and residents only.

What is left on the Enumclaw side in winter?

More than nothing, if you are not in a car. The state closes SR 410 for the winter just past the Crystal Mountain Boulevard junction at the park's north boundary; the Chinook Pass guide on this site has the closing dates back to 1935 and the years, late 1930s to 1974, when the state plowed up from Enumclaw to Cayuse Pass. Behind the gate, the park's winter recreation page describes 12 miles of unplowed road from the boundary to White River Campground, open to snowmobiles and to anyone on skis or snowshoes, with wilderness permits and climbing cards by self-registration at the north boundary arch and maps from the Forest Service office in Enumclaw, 360-825-6585. Parking is at the Silver Springs Sno-Park off the Crystal Mountain road, where a Sno-Park permit is required: $25 a day or $50 a season as of October 2026, sold November 1 to April 30 by State Parks' permit page, with more in the pass-by-pass guide. The Sunrise Road is closed to private vehicles for the rest of 2026 because of the Grand Park 2 and Wonderland Complex fires, by the park's alerts, and the Carbon River and Mowich Lake roads stay cut off by the Fairfax Bridge, the subject of the Mowich Lake guide.

Before you go

Follow the park's routine: after 4 p.m. the day before, read the Alerts on nps.gov/mora for the expected gate status; after 7 a.m. on the day, read them again. The Longmire and Paradise webcams show the lots and the weather, and the recorded line at 360-569-2211 repeats the road report. WSDOT's reports for SR 410 and SR 123 run from November 1 to April 1. Read the Northwest Avalanche Center's forecast before leaving the plowed lots. For the rest of October 2026, by the park's road page of October 9 and subject to change: Paradise Valley Road closes October 19, Ricksecker Point Road October 20, and Stevens Canyon Road and the White River Road October 26.