Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge to Mt. Rainier is closed
The news couldn’t be worse for Mount Rainier National Park goers that had planned to visit the Carbon River and Mowich Lake Entrances this summer - the bridge is closed permanently as of April 14, 2025. This also affects hikers that planned to hike the popular Summit Lake Trail and Bear Head Mountain.
About the Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge
The bridge in question is the 103-year old Fairfax bridge just a couple miles from the towns of Wilkeson and Carbonado. The steel bridge spans the deep Carbon Canyon and has provided vehicular access to the Northwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park. A recent inspection revealed that the main support column was bent in two directions and starting to buckle. About 40 residents live on the other side of the bridge. With the emergency closure, there is a detour route in place that is only available to residents.
Is Mount Rainier Carbon River and Mowich Lake closed?
No. The park entrances themselves are not “closed” to recreation, but without vehicular access are nearly unattainable except for the truly dedicated recreationist that craves tranquility and is willing to put in the sweat equity. The Carbon River entrance is nearly 15 miles up river and can be accessed via an old railroad bed that passes under the degrading steel bridge. This railroad bed quickly turns to single track past the bridge and continues to the Upper Fairfax bridge where it crosses the Carbon River and ties into the paved road. If you wanted to make the same route towards Mowich Lake, you are looking at 26 miles one way.
Can I hike to Mount Rainier National Park?
Yes. But it will take some time to access the Northwest corner. There is backcountry access via trails from the Westside Road (Longmire entrance to Mount Rainier), and the White River Corridor (FS access roads and trails along Hwy 410). Or via the route mentioned in the paragraph above.
What trails are affected at Mount Rainier?
The most popular trails accessed via Mowich Lake are arguably Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout and Spray Park. Both known for their stunning views of Mount Rainier.
The Carbon River entrance had the delightful mossy Carbon River Trail and the trail to Ipsut Falls.
Will the Fairfax Bridge Reopen?
According to a press release from WSDOT, they will initiate planning that will evaluate options to address the bridge condition. Those options include:
Keep the bridge closed and not replace it, which is referred to as a no build option.
Bridge replacement in the same vicinity.
Re-routing SR 165 on a new alignment to the east or west of Carbon River Canyon.
But the short story is the existing bridge will never re-open and there’s no money for a replacement.
What’s the good news?
Well, every cloud has a silver lining and for hikers on the Wonderland Trail they will have peace and tranquility at beautiful Mowich Lake. And no crowds of hikers if they venture on a side trip up to Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout. However, there won’t be any vehicular access to drop off food caches at that location so they’ll have to schlep a bit more in with them or arrange for an alternative drop site.
Additionally, this will push the hikers that would otherwise have visited the NW corner of Mt Rainier to the other entrances including Longmire and White River which are already quite crowded with visitors come summer.
Fairfax Bridge across the Carbon Canyon