Harsh Winter, Late Spring Keeping Some Areas Closed

Highway 20 over Washington’s North Cascades reopened in late April after its annual wintertime closure. But don’t plan on any high-country strolls on roadside trails; there’s still lots of snow up in the Cascades.

At Mount Rainier National Park, for example, the popular Paradise visitors area is still deep in snow and best for cross-country skiing, not walking. Daytime temperatures at the beginning of May were running in the 20s and 30s, with snow showers.

Some Northwest roads remain closed after this winter’s heavy rains and floods. They include Highway 123 over Cayuse Pass on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park (phone the park at (360) 569-2211 for information) and the Hoh road on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula, which leads to the Hoh Visitor Center and rain-forest trails in Olympic National Park. The Hoh road is due to reopen this month. (Phone the park at (360) 452-0330 for information.)

Meanwhile, backpackers who want to camp this summer in the almost-loved-to-death Enchantment Lakes area near Leavenworth must get a permit, which now for the first time is available by phone.

The Enchantment area is part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, 400,000 acres of peaks and lakes between Snoqualmie and Stevens passes.

To get a summertime permit, phone Reservations Northwest at (800) 452-5687. One-quarter of the permits will remain available daily at the Leavenworth ranger station and will be issued through a drawing.

The phone reservations opened at the beginning of May, and it’s likely the phone lines (open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) will be jammed early in the season, so be persistent. And have your credit card ready for the $5 fee.

Some more numbers for campers:

For car-based and RV campers: Reservations Northwest, (800) 452-5687.

British Columbia’s provincial-park campgrounds: Discover Camping at (800) 689-9025.

National forests across the country, including the popular Tumwater campground near Leavenworth, phone (800) 280-2267.

The following fields overflowed: SECTION = DRIVE SEASON ‘96 SUMMER TRAVEL GUIDE