May 2006-Aug 2008 MRNP Paradise PARKING ISSUE

Tacoma, WA - Thursday, July 13, 2006  < Back to Regular Story Page     

Paradise parking will be eased with free shuttles


JEFFREY P. MAYOR; The News Tribune
Last updated: July 13th, 2006 01:21 AM (PDT)

Beginning Friday, visitors to Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park can take a shuttle to help avoid the congested parking areas.
The summer-long service is one method park officials are using to ease congestion caused by construction of the new visitor center at Paradise and renovation of the Paradise Inn.

The free shuttles will run Fridays through Sundays through Sept. 10, plus on Labor Day. They will drop off riders at the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center.

One route will be along the Paradise Valley Road loop. Buses will run about every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. To ride the shuttle, simply flag one down as it approaches. Park officials are asking visitors to stay off the roadside vegetation while waiting for the shuttle.

This shuttle will not go through the day-use and overnight parking lots in the picnic area south of the visitor center.

The other route will run between Longmire and Paradise, making stops at Cougar Rock and Glacier Bridge.

There will be seven runs each day, with the first leaving Longmire at 9:30 a.m. and the last leaving Paradise at 8 p.m. The shuttle will take about 30 minutes to go from Longmire to Paradise.

The stop at the entrance to the Cougar Rock picnic area will serve the park’s largest campground. That, and the Glacier Bridge stops, will serve the area where visitors driving recreational vehicles or vehicles 20 feet or longer are being asked to park if they intend to visit Paradise.

Drivers should drop off their passengers at the visitor center before parking and walking or riding the shuttle from parking on the Paradise Valley Road. Be sure to unload backpacks, wheelchairs and other items while dropping off passengers. Because cell phone service is unavailable in the park, visitors should arrange a meeting time and location before the drop-off.

Other parking options at Paradise will not be serviced by the shuttles.

Two-hour and accessible parking for persons with disabilities are available in the visitor center lot. The Paradise picnic area is presently dedicated to day-use and overnight parking. With the conversion of the picnic area to parking, visitors are encouraged to picnic before or after arriving at Paradise.

When planning a trip to Paradise, park officials recommend visiting on weekdays, early or late in the day. If visiting on a weekend or holiday, plan to arrive at Paradise by 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. for the best parking opportunities.

More information on the shuttle and parking at Paradise is available at park entrance stations and on the park Web site, www.nps.gov/mora .

Paradise shuttle schedules


Paradise Valley Road loop shuttle

Shuttles will run Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., about every 15 minutes, depending on time of day and congestion.


Longmire to Paradise shuttle schedule

Depart     Depart          Depart            Arrive
Longmire Cougar Rock Glacier Bridge Paradise

9:30 a.m. 9:40 a.m.      9:50 a.m.       10 a.m.

10 a.m. 10:10 a.m.     10:20 a.m.       10:30 a.m.

11 a.m. 11:10 a.m.     11:20 a.m.       11:30 a.m.

Noon    12:10 p.m.      12:20 p.m.       12:30 p.m.

1:30 p.m. 1:40 p.m.      1:50 p.m.              2 p.m.

3 p.m.      3:10 p.m.       3:20 p.m.        3:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m. 4:40 p.m.      4:50 p.m.              5 p.m.


Depart    Depart            Depart          Arrive
Paradise Glacier Bridge Cougar Rock Longmire

12:45 p.m. 12:55 p.m.   1:05 p.m.      1:15 p.m.

2;15 p.m.     2:25 p.m.   2:35 p.m.      2:45 p.m.

3:45 p.m.     3:55 p.m.   4:05 p.m.      4:15 p.m.

5:15 p.m.     5:25 p.m.   5:35 p.m.      5:45 p.m.

6 p.m.          6:10 p.m.   6:20 p.m.      6:30 p.m.

7 p.m.          7:10 p.m.   7:20 p.m.      7:30 p.m.

8 p.m.          8:10 p.m.   8:20 p.m.      8:30 p.m.

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640
jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com
Originally published: July 13th, 2006 01:00 AM (PDT)

Darryl, Jeanette and yours truly did a recon hike in a location sporting less hostile weather in the vicinity of Paradise on Sunday.  Afterwards we took a run up to Paradise to check out the progress on the construction and see if our estimates of the foul weather were on target or not.  They were, but I almost drove right through the chain link barrier from mere surprise before I realized it completely blocked the road between the Visitor's Center and the upper parking lot where they are building the new VC.

Darryl took one for the team and braved the elements to go into the old VC and ask the duty ranger what the deal was.  Turns out they have the entire parking lot blocked off while they are "moving equipment around" and basically "winterizing" the construction site.  They expect to have the upper lot open again in "maybe a couple of weeks" and the ranger said he thought there may be more parking available for winter when they get things all tucked away.

Here is what we encountered...

after seeing the construction site this weekend, i was kinda curious to see what the new visitors center would look like....came across this pdf file from the park service

www.nps.gov/archive/mora/ParConst/Paradi...n_Update_No.%202.PDF

on the last page of the pdf theres a short article titled 'why build a new visitor center?'...the fact that the existing visitor center does not meet updated building or accessibility codes isn't a surprise, what is surprising is that the Jackson Visitor Center was not built to withstand the typical snow loads at paradise and an elaborate (and diesel fuel guzzling) snowmelt system had to be added to the roof to keep it from collapsing in the winter. Talk about a bit of a mistake!

Yeah, that is pretty ludicrous alright, Pete.
The story I heard was that the current VC was designed for a Park Service location somewhere in Hawaii (certainly seems plausible) and at the last minute got relocated to Paradise through some major political "coup". Good move, eh? :

I hadn't been up there for a while and did not realize what a mess this was/is/will be.
Without the picnic loop and the PV road in the mix, there's really very little parking, even if they do manage to open 25% or so of the main lot in a couple weeks. It doesn't sound like they have any intention of running shuttles from Longmire in the winter (and with ski gear issues and getting buses up slick roads, might not work even if they did fund it). Once they start the gate closures, their posted advice of 'get there before 9' is going to be at least partially moot. And the previously merely absurd 'gentlemen, start your engines' scene from the Longmire lot waiting for the gate to open and everyone trying to nose their way out might get distastefully competitive.

I might be avoiding Paradise more often this winter.

BTW when we got up there on Sat, the dawn was just starting to light things up. Coming round the last corner and seeing the floodlights on the big supports that they've thus far finished on the new viz center, workers already working, and all the machines and fences in that eerie light, completely reminded me of Richard Dreyfus coming over that ridge and getting his first look at the alien landing facility in "Close Encounters". Fortunately, we did not get chased by black helicopters.

Yeah, that is pretty ludicrous alright, Pete.
The story I heard was that the current VC was designed for a Park Service location somewhere in Hawaii (certainly seems plausible) and at the last minute got relocated to Paradise through some major political "coup".  Good move, eh?  :

The JVC uses a "hot water loop" in the roof to melt the snow off -- and it must because building lacks the structure to support a full snow load.   At current fuel oil costs -- fuel is running the NPS something like $500,000 per year to melt the snow off the roof.   The oil storage tanks at the JVC cannot hold enough fuel oil to last the entire winter -- so the NPS must keep the road plowed to the JVC -- otherwise the building would collapse!  Your tax dollars at work!!!

One worry I have is that once the new vistor center is completed and the old JVC torn down -- The NPS will no longer have to plow the road to Paradise.