Mount Rainier’s Spray Park hasn’t been reachable by car in over a year, and there’s no fix on the horizon
A 103-year-old bridge outside Mount Rainier National Park closed for good in April 2025, and it took one of the park’s best wildflower hikes down with it. Spray Park hasn’t been reachable by car since, and nobody at the state level is promising a fix. If you’ve had it bookmarked for this summer, here’s what actually happened, and where to point the car instead.
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The SR 165 bridge over the Carbon River, known locally as the Fairfax Bridge, carried traffic to Mount Rainier’s Mowich Lake and Carbon River entrances for over a century. In July 2024, inspectors dropped its load rating to just 16,000 pounds. A follow-up inspection found rust and structural decay severe enough that WSDOT closed it outright on April 22, 2025 — permanently, not for repairs.
That’s the only paved road into the park’s northwest corner. Mowich Lake, Spray Park, and the Carbon River corridor are still there — they’re just not reachable by car anymore.
Spray Park itself is a 6-mile round-trip hike from Mowich Lake, climbing about 1,300 feet into subalpine meadows with Mount Rainier’s Mowich Face filling the skyline. A spur trail drops down to Spray Falls along the way.
WSDOT has said there’s no current funding to rebuild the bridge, and a full environmental review is still years from producing a real answer. The options on the table range from leaving the crossing closed for good to rerouting SR 165 entirely, and nobody’s picked one yet.
Well over a year in, this isn’t a detour. It’s the new normal until further notice.
Right now the only way into Spray Park is on foot, and not a short one. You’re looking at the Wonderland Trail from Sunrise or Longmire, which turns a day hike into a multi-day backpacking trip with a wilderness permit attached.
If you weren’t already planning that kind of trip, don’t force it. Rainier has other meadows that don’t come with a permit lottery attached.
Comet Falls is the easiest swap. The Van Trump Trail climbs about 1,286 feet over 3.6 miles round trip to a 320-foot plunge, one of the tallest waterfalls in the park.
The upper section opens into Van Trump Park’s own wildflower meadows, no bridge required to get there. It’s rated hard for a reason — the last stretch turns steep and rocky, so pace yourself.
Comet Falls sits inside the park boundary, so you’ll need your America the Beautiful pass or Rainier’s standard entrance fee at the gate.
For more trails in the same corner of the park, 15 Epic Hikes in Mount Rainier National Park rounds up the rest of the best options — bridge closure or not.
Would the bridge closure change your Rainier plans this year, or were you already routing around it?
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before Rainier’s summer crowds book everything up, or skip both and book a camper van instead.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
