Sunday, October 13, 2024
Washington State Route 706
On Sunday, October 6, 2024, we drove Washington State Route 706 to the gate of Mount Rainier National Park. It was not nearly as much fun as you might expect.
State route No. 706—Road to Paradise:
A state highway to be known as state route number 706, designated the Road to Paradise, is established as follows:Beginning at a junction with state route number 7 at Elbe, thence easterly to a southwest entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park.
Highway 706 starts here in Elbe at a junction with SR 7. You have to turn right to stay on 7.
The forested Nisqually River valley is sprinkled with a few farms. The evergreen forest is dark; the deciduous forest is full of autumn colors. About halfway along the highway, we arrive at the town of Ashford, pictured above.
We progress deeper into the forest. At milepost 10, still 3.5 miles from the end of Highway 706, we hit a traffic jam. Two excrutiating hours later, we arrive at the end of Highway 706, directly under this entrance gate to Mount Rainier National Park.
You ask, why was there a two-hour traffic jam? Because the federal government is incompetent, that's why. They capped entry to the park during the summer months. We arrived on the first unrestricted weekend and thus we see the pent-up demand. We couldn't even find a parking spot at Paradise. It was getting late anyway, so we left and visted other places.
A major part of the problem is that the park requires everyone to stop at the toll booth on entry, even if you paid in advance. If they had payment enforcement like Washington State's Discover Pass, there would be no line at the gate. There'd be a kiosk where you could stop to buy a pass or you could just drive on in, if you already had one.
The federal government has no constitutional authority to have national parks, anyway. This should be Mount Rainier State Park.
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