How The Carbon River Bridge Closure Affects Mount Rainier Visits

It was a long time ago that I packed up my young family and we went on vacation and decided to visit, among other things, Mount Rainier National Park. It was an amazing drive; the scenery was stunning, we went all the way up to the Paradise Lodge which is the jump off point for people who want to climb Mount Rainier. 

The easiest access to Mount Rainier National Park is on Hwy. 165. But now that access has disappeared. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘The Carbon River Bridge has “permanently closed” to all traffic, cutting off Highway 165 to the northwest of Mount Rainier National Park, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Beyond daily traffic, the closure will indefinitely pinch recreational access to Rainier in the summer, as two of the park’s precious few entrance points have been rendered inaccessible.‘ 

People wanting to visit this park are going to have a much more difficult time getting there, detouring down Hwy. 167, Through Elba onto Hwy. 706, through Longmire finally giving you access to Paradise by way of Paradise Valley Rd., or you could detour up to Wonderland Trail. 

The thing to keep in mind is that hiking is restricted because of the lack of easy access. If anyone is injured, extracting them from the park would be a severe problem, so yes, no hiking on the Wonderland Trail. There is a nine-mile detour that's open to 1st responders, but it is closed to the public. 

The saddest part of this whole story is the fact that it's doubtful that the Carbon River Bridge will be repaired even this year, possibly not even repaired next year because of the severe budget shortfall that Washington state is going to see over the next four years. 

The bridge is over 103 years old, and it's probably been due for repair or replacement for decades. Now there is no choice. It must be repaired or replaced. 

Travelling to Paradise and exploring the Mount Rainier National Forest has become much more difficult, probably for the next several years.
Key bridge to Mount Rainier ‘starting to buckle,’ closes indefinitely | The Seattle Times
103-year-old SR 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge permanently closed | WSDOT
Mount Rainier National Park rolls out summer reservation system | The Seattle Times
SR 165 Carbon River Fairfax Bridge Closure | Flickr