Winter In Paradise Vk

[Jayme Chouinard]

MountRainier National Park has historically provided public vehicle access in winter to Paradise seven days a week, weather, staffing and equipment permitting. Effective November 15, for the winter of 2023-24, public access to Paradise will be available five days a week, Thursdays through Mondays, weather, staff, and equipment permitting.

Alternative Winter Destinations and Activities

How is access to Paradise different this winter than last winter?

Public vehicle access to Paradise has been extended to five days (Thursdays through Mondays) and federal holidays, weather, staffing, and equipment permitting. This is three days more per week than last winter.

Is the park closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays if the road to Paradise is only open Thursdays-Mondays?

The park remains open daily. On days that the gate to Paradise is closed, visitors may still enjoy vehicle access to Longmire, the National Park Inn, and all associated trailheads. The Carbon River Area, and the east side of the park remain open for normal winter recreation. For recreational opportunities outside the park please visit -winter-destinations-activities.htm.

Could anything prevent the road between Longmire and Paradise from opening on Thursday through Monday?

Some factors could cause access to Paradise to close on Thursdays through Mondays including adverse weather/road conditions, unforeseen staffing issues, equipment failures, high avalanche risks, a motor vehicle accident or another emergency.

Why is the road to Paradise not open seven days a week this winter?

We have increased staffing levels to the point that private vehicle and winter recreation access to Paradise can be supported five days per week, Thursdays through Mondays. This is three days more each week than last winter.

We are continuing to try to hire more staff and solicit additional volunteers and will revisit the Paradise access schedule this winter if staffing levels change. Park leadership continues to explore creative staffing solutions. Current job opportunities can be found here.

How does the change in access affect tire chain requirements?

The change in access does not affect tire chain requirements. Between November 1 and May 1, all vehicles are required to carry tire chains when traveling to any location inside Mount Rainier National Park. This requirement applies to all vehicle types in all weather and road conditions. More information on tire chain requirements can be found on our website.

Where can I recreate inside the park this winter?

Conditions permitting, the entire park will be open for winter recreation, with vehicle access to Paradise on Thursdays through Mondays. Information on winter activities within the park and nearby areas outside the park is available on the park website.

Can I access Paradise during the week if I have a winter camping permit?

Winter camping at Paradise is available Thursday-Sunday nights only, road conditions permitting. Winter camping at Paradise will not be permitted Monday-Wednesday nights due to the closure of the Longmire to Paradise road.

Our premier RV resort, Winter Paradise, is centrally located near Florida's Hottest tourist attractions, such as Disney World, Busch Gardens and Legoland! Winter Paradise features outstanding resort facilities and amenities, planned events and activities, and affordable rates for long or short stays. With all of these great features, you'll love to make us your winter paradise!

There ought to be a law! There ought to be a law against snow and ice and winter. There ought to be a law against snow drifting across the back door and one against ice forming on the sidewalks after I've shoveled. There ought to be a law against 40 below and frozen peas (they have nothing to do with winter, but there should be a law against peas anyway).

There should be laws to protect the average citizen from wind chill and frozen door locks. We should not have to endure the fury of Mother Nature when she loses her temper and tosses snowflakes against the windowpanes. We should not have to cope in winter. Everyone should be able to hibernate from November to April. No one should have to work or think or hurt during those months when everything else is smart enough to stay asleep. Why is mankind still awake?

Winter always comes as a surprise to me. I think I should be onto winter but it always brings a few tricks to keep me on my toes. I have spent winters in the frozen north (like now), winters basking on beaches in the Caribbean, winters slogging through rain in the swamps of Louisiana, and winters being blown around on the Midwest prairies. But, never before has my Jell-O frozen on the way to the potluck!

I've been around a long time and I know the ebb and flow in winter, when the earth sleeps and the waters lie solid beneath the blanket of snow. I've learned to ski, to skate, to sled, and to make soup. We've crafted until we ran out of room and friends and then we discovered books and the computer. We've refinished furniture bought in the fall when it seemed like a good idea. We've learned to square dance and to play bridge and we've cleaned house until it should be spring. But nothing prepared me for frozen Jell-O and the bitterness of this winter. Nothing.

Why now? Why now after so many years, did winter send its full blast across my face? Why does it snow more on this side of the street than over there? Why does the snow plow raise its blade at my driveway instead of next door? Why did winter pick on me this year?

Maybe, but there ought to be a law ... is Mother Nature monitoring our grief? Does she notice when we fail to grasp the joy in the little moments? Does she despair when we let the beauty of her landscaping go unnoticed? Is Mother Nature sad when we hurry everywhere, intent upon solutions but missing the questions completely? Is winter her way of slowing us down and inviting us to walk more carefully through her world?

In winter, creatures turn to each other for warmth and comfort. Is this blizzard a reminder to us to stay inside, to seek out each other for company, entertainment, and comfort? Did Mother Nature invent winter just to remind us to cuddle...if not each other, then ourselves? Were we rushing too quickly through autumn to stop and celebrate her turning leaves?

Were we hurrying through our lives, searching for the peace we dream of, but missing the moments along the way? Is winter the season of despair or the season when we must confront our sadness because we are snowbound and can't escape the icy fingers of grief? Is winter the time when life slows to a mushy pace, when the heart is heavy with memory and the steps no longer seem to carry us any place warm?

We cannot move to the warmer places until we have struggled to shovel the walk, start the car and become respectful of the progress of birth, life, death and rebirth again and again. Winter comes until we understand that death only takes the arms we long to hold, the voice we strain to hear, the face we see so clearly. Winter cannot take the love that melts the heart and warms the secret, inside places. Even though winter comes, love endures long past the icy blasts of death.

Love paints the sky with sunshine and cradles the aching heart and fills the empty arms. We did love and so we shall again... in some other place, some other time. But only if we learn to slip and slide across the icy spots of our grief and practice falling and getting up again and again and again.

There is a purpose to winter. It is that time when the earth slows and the days grow short so we huddle inside, safe against the icy blasts. Winter is that time when we allow memory to rise to the surface and we must claim and confront our fears, our aches, our hurts, our grief. We've run out of places to hide. Grief finds us no matter where we are in winter. It is time to live through this part of the journey too.

So, bundle up, lay in a good supply of chocolate and tissues, and let the memories skate across your mind. Curl up with the scrapbooks, put on the music, and let the tears flow. Claim it all, for we have earned it all. We could not understand light if we had not known dark. We could not sing sweet if we had not tasted bitter. We could not laugh if we had not cried.

As you most likely noticed, I am a second language speaker. Specifically, I am from the Czech Republic and my native language is Czech. The Czech Republic is small country in the middle of Europe (not Eastern) with a population slightly above 10 million people. If one looks at the north side of the Czech Republic, one would see city called Liberec. Liberec is my hometown and the reason of this post. Despite it has population only of 102,000 people, Liberec is the 5th biggest city in the whole country. Yes, we are very small country and that is why every world recognition is even more valuable.

The Secret Spot that the article talks about is in the mountains called Jizersk Hory, only fifteen to twenty minutes by car from the downtown of Liberec. Actually, every year in Jizersk Hory a traditional 50 kilometers (31.0686 miles) cross country race called Jizersk Padestka is run. Padestka means 50. This place is not only a paradise for all cross country enthusiasts, but in the summer people ride bikes or they are having walks with their families.

The full loop features 1,500 feet of elevation across seven miles, but this is typically far too difficult in the winter. Instead, work your way up to the highest point you can and take in the views. Please be aware that the trail is available to the public, except during hunting season in October and November, thanks to a conservation easement recently made accessible by the gracious landowners, Roy and Sandy Rose, so treat it with as much respect and reverence as possible. Do this everywhere you go!

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