Mount Rainier National Park entrance fee and passes.

Paying, cash, and which passes work.

Cards at the gate. Mount Rainier has moved to cashless payments at its entrances and campgrounds. Most credit cards and digital payments work, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Entrances are generally staffed during daylight hours. If you arrive when an entrance isn't staffed, buy a pass at the next staffed entrance.

Paying with cash. Some partners outside the park sell the $30 seven-day vehicle pass for cash, so buy it before you enter. On the way to the Nisqually Entrance in the southwest corner: Ashford Creek Pottery, Ashford Valley Grocery, Ashford General Store, and Whittaker Mountaineering. On the way to the SR 123 South Entrance in the southeast: the Packwood Visitor Center. On the way to the Carbon River and Mowich Lake entrance in the northwest: Wilkeson Historical District.

Buying ahead. The seven-day vehicle pass is sold online about three weeks ahead. Printed vouchers are preferred, but a digital voucher works for that pass. For an annual pass, or to upgrade a vehicle pass, bring a printed or downloaded copy of the voucher. A digital America the Beautiful pass from Recreation.gov saves to your phone and works right away.

The Discover Pass doesn't work here. NPS says the Washington Discover Pass is for Washington State Parks only and doesn't cover Mount Rainier. If you already hold a valid annual or lifetime pass, such as a Senior, America the Beautiful, or Military pass, you don't need to buy the Mount Rainier annual pass.

Visiting from outside the U.S.? Mount Rainier isn't one of the eleven parks on the NPS entrance fee prices page that charge a $100 nonresident fee, so a car pays the same $30. Residency still matters for annual passes. The $55 Mount Rainier annual pass and the $80 America the Beautiful pass are for U.S. citizens and residents, and since January 1, 2026, nonresidents pay $250 for the America the Beautiful pass. Fee-free days are for U.S. residents only.

ID and pass rules. America the Beautiful passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and can't be replaced if lost or stolen, and passholders must show valid photo ID with each pass. The Military pass needs proper military ID, a CAC card or DoD Form 1173. For the 4th grade pass, print a voucher from the Every Kid Outdoors website before you come and bring it to the park. Tour companies pay by seating capacity: $100 for a mini-bus with 16 to 25 seats and $200 for a motor coach with 26 or more.

Free entrance days in 2026.

NPS lists eight fee-free dates for 2026, ten days in all: February 16, May 25, June 14, July 3 to 5, August 25, September 17, October 27, and November 11. Entrance is free for U.S. citizens and residents only, and NPS notes other fees may still apply. Seven of those days have passed, so the three left are September 17, October 27, and November 11.

July is Mount Rainier's busiest month, with about 13,600 recreation visits a day on average over the past five years, and August runs about 12,800. This year's free days in that stretch, July 3 to 5 and August 25, are behind us. September averages about 7,800 visits a day, so September 17 is still a busy day to skip the fee. October 27 and November 11 fall in much quieter months, at about 4,300 and 900 a day.

School groups. Groups from qualified education institutions coming to study park resources can get a fee waiver. Apply at least one month before the visit.

Reservations, climbing, and wilderness permits.

No timed entry in 2026. Timed entry reservations aren't required anywhere in Mount Rainier, and the park won't use them in 2026, so the entrance fee is all you need to drive in; our Mount Rainier reservations page covers what that means for parking.

Climbing. You need a climbing permit to be on a glacier or above the normal high camps, about 10,000 feet. You must be at least 18, or have a guardian's permission, to apply. Each person in the party pays an $82 registration fee, online at Pay.gov, and you have to pay before you come to the park. From May 1 to September 15, a wilderness permit is also issued when you register, and a wilderness permit is $12 per person per night. Details are on the NPS climbing page.

Wilderness camping. Every overnight stay in the backcountry needs a wilderness permit, all year. A confirmed reservation costs $6, a Recreation.gov fee, plus $12 per person per night, for up to 13 consecutive nights. Walk-up backpacking and climbing permits cost $12 per person per night plus the non-refundable $6 reservation fee, paid by credit or debit card only. Remaining reservable spots open on Recreation.gov starting April 25, for camp dates between June 1 and October 10. Two people on a three-night trip with a reservation pay $6 plus $72, or $78, on top of the entrance fee. Details are on the NPS wilderness permit page.

Camping. The annual pass doesn't cover camping fees. Campground fees and booking are on our Mount Rainier camping page.

Is the annual pass worth it?

Two seven-day vehicle passes cost $60, so the $55 Mount Rainier annual pass pays for itself on a second visit within the year. The $80 America the Beautiful pass costs $25 more and also covers other national parks and federal recreation lands, so if this trip takes in other parks that charge entrance fees, add up their gate prices before you choose. At 62 or older, the $20 Senior Annual Pass costs less than one visit. Mount Rainier's fees don't change by season, so pick your dates on the best time to visit Mount Rainier page and budget the pass separately.

For visitors from outside the U.S., the $250 non-resident pass doesn't pay off at Mount Rainier alone, since a car pays $30. The calculator above runs your own numbers.

Common questions.

Do you need a parking pass at Mount Rainier?

Not a separate one. The Mount Rainier fees page lists no parking fee apart from the entrance pass, and the $30 vehicle pass covers the car for seven days. The Washington Discover Pass doesn't cover the park.

Can I go to Mount Rainier without a reservation?

Yes. Timed entry reservations aren't required anywhere in Mount Rainier, and the park won't use them in 2026. Pay the entrance fee by card at a staffed entrance, or buy a pass ahead. Overnight backcountry trips and climbs still need permits.

What are the new fees for national parks in 2026?

The big changes are for visitors from outside the U.S. Eleven national parks charge them a $100 fee per person, and Mount Rainier isn't one of them. The America the Beautiful annual pass is $80 for U.S. residents and $250 for nonresidents, and fee-free days are for U.S. residents only.

Where these facts come from

Entrance, annual, America the Beautiful, and commercial prices, the cashless rule and accepted cards, the cash sellers, staffed hours, vouchers, the Discover Pass note, the ID and voucher rules for the Military and 4th grade passes, the no-timed-entry rule for 2026, the education fee waiver, and the 2026 fee-free dates come from the NPS Mount Rainier fees page. Climbing permit rules and the registration fee come from the NPS climbing page; wilderness permit prices, the walk-up rule, and the April 25 release from the NPS wilderness permit page. The eleven-park nonresident list comes from the NPS entrance fee prices page; the 2026 America the Beautiful pricing tier from the NPS nonresident fee page; the $250 pass coverage and the U.S.-residents-only rule for fee-free days from the NPS entrance passes page. Daily visit figures are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, divided by the days in the month. Calculator results and the permit example are our arithmetic on the fee table. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.