The closure will pinch recreational access to Mount Rainier National Park, rendering two of its precious few entrance points inaccessible heading into summer.

WSDOT permanently closed the Fairfax Bridge, blocking public access to key areas of Mount Rainier National Park.

On a clear sunny day in the Seattle/Tacoma area of Washington State, the locals often remark “The Mountain is out.” Gaze eastward and you, too, will see The Mountain, a 14,410-foot-tall (4,392 meters) volcano towering over the landscape in all its glacier-flanked glory.