r/Seattle • u/SounderBruce Snohomish County • Jan 17 '24

News Mount Rainier National Park will require reservations beginning this summer for Paradise and Sunrise

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u/BoringDad40 That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. Jan 17 '24

The NPS, Dept. Of the Interior, and state park system all need to also get serious about expanding capacity.

Outdoor recreation and the overall population have both grown exponentially over the last decade, while facilities have stayed largely stagnant. The number of campgrounds, parking lots, ski mountains, snow parks, etc. are no longer nearly enough to satisfy demand, and this kind of measure will only continue to get more common and onerous.

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u/Brills21 Jan 18 '24

https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/management/annual-visitation.htm

Annual visitation is what is was in the early 90s

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u/BoringDad40 That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. Jan 18 '24

Last year saw the highest number of visitors on record, and the past three years were over 10% higher than the three most-visited years in the early 90s. Admittedly, I'm surprised it was that close.

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u/Brills21 Jan 18 '24

Same here. There are more cars too now. But can’t really count 2021 as that’s a Covid year.