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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2021
Another summer of crowds expected at parks
By TOM BANSE
Northwest News Network
Memorial Day week-
end traditionally marks the
beginning of the summer
camping, vacation and rec-
reation season. Last sum-
mer, Pacifi c Northwest
public lands and trailheads
were overrun by people
seeking COVID-safe get-
aways in the fresh air. The
pandemic may be winding
down, but it doesn’t look
like the crowds are abating.
“From everything I am
hearing, all of the public
land managers are bracing
for the crowds,” said Wash-
ington State Parks spokes-
person Meryl Lassen. “We
expect it to exceed 2020.”
Lassen said reserva-
tions for state park camp-
sites are running far ahead
of the pace of the last nor-
mal year, 2019. Marine
state parks are also seeing
higher moorage fee collec-
tions from boaters. Lassen
said it appears people who
discovered the great out-
doors last year aren’t ready
to give it up.
“People aren’t yet neces-
sarily comfortable going to
busy areas indoors, going
to concerts, museums, what
have you,” Lassen said. “I
think people still feel pretty
safe in the outdoors.”
At
Mount
Rain-
ier National Park, visi-
tor counts for this calendar
year through April are 51%
higher than during the same
four months of pre-pan-
demic 2019.
“We do expect a busy
summer,” said Terry Wildy,
chief of interpretation for
the national park. “We’re
seeing increased visitation
already. For planning pur-
poses, folks may want to
have a Plan B.”
Wildy said people think-
ing of taking advantage of
the sunny Memorial Day
weekend forecast should be
aware there is still 11 feet of
snow on the ground at the
popular Paradise recreation
Tom Banse/Northwest News Network
Campsite reservations at popular parks in the Pacifi c Northwest are going fast, if not already sold out for the peak summer period.
area on the slopes of Mount
Rainier.
“You’ve got to be ready
for that with the clothing
you take with you and your
gear,” Wildy said.
Mount Rainier National
Park is in the midst of a
multi-year planning process
to address congestion in the
Nisqually to Paradise road
corridor. Strategies under
consideration for the future
include implementing a
shuttle system or introduc-
ing a timed-entry reserva-
tion system.
Some popular national
forest destinations in the
Northwest are introducing
advance reservation sys-
tems to manage crowding.
In central Oregon, the
Deschutes
and
Willa-
mette National Forests will
require both day-use and
overnight visitors to get
a permit to hike on cer-
tain trails leading into the
Three Sisters, Mount Jef-
ferson and Mount Washing-
ton wilderness areas. The
new, limited-access permit-
ting system covers 19 of the
most popular trails in the
central Oregon Cascades.
The U.S. Forest Service
said its objective is to better
manage peak season crowds
and preserve the wilderness
character of these areas.
Separately, beginning in
mid-June, the Giff ord Pin-
chot National Forest will
require drivers to obtain a
reserved parking ticket to
visit recreation sites in a
14-mile stretch dotted with
waterfalls along the upper
Lewis River between Mount
St. Helens and Mount
Adams. In a news release,
the national forest said the
new parking reservation
system comes in response
to signifi cant increases in
visitor traffi c, which led to
safety concerns over con-
gestion, habitat protection,
trash and human waste.
An extra element to
research for people headed
into the woods of west-
ern and southern Oregon
are closures left over from
last September’s rash of
big wildfi res. For example,
as KLCC reported, many
campgrounds,
trailheads
and boat launches in the
McKenzie River and Detroit
ranger districts of the Wil-
lamette National Forest
are still closed because of
safety threats such as haz-
ard trees and rock falls.
The Oregon Offi ce of
Emergency Management
cautioned travelers to be
prepared for delays on some
highways as debris cleanup
from last September’s wild-
fi res continues.

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