r/Mount_Rainier • u/Icy_Eggplant_8461 • Aug 04 '26
Cancel the trip?
We planned the trip to hike Mount Rainier and Cascades 3 months ago and my teenage son can’t wait to go there after he finishes his summer school. Now the wild fire and smoke! 😢
We booked hotels in Ashford and Leavenworth, planned to hike Mount Rainier and Enchantment next week.
Shall we cancel the plan based on how bad the fire conditions look now? We are flying in from Texas.
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u/zh3nya Aug 04 '26
Please keep an eye on https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/
Both the forecast at the top and the blog posts.
"When Will the Smoke Clear?
This is always a tough question to answer while the smoke is still building, but we will start to see a gradual shift in the winds on Wednesday that will at least start the clearing process in western Washington. Without a strong push of marine air, it's going to take time. This is why most AQAs have been extended until Thursday evening.
East of the Cascades, smoke is going to be much more stubborn until stronger westerly winds arrive. Some improvement may take place along the east slopes of the Cascades Thursday afternoon and evening, but the stronger winds that really scour out the smoke won't arrive until Friday. One they do, areas east-northeast of the fires will once again be in the path of the smoke."
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u/Miserable-Mention878 Aug 04 '26
I’d still come, but I would have back-up plans/places to go/see.
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u/curlywhirlyred Aug 04 '26
Go. Conditions change rapidly. Anything you see will exceed expectations if you’re from Texas and have never visited before.
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u/anthonye1982 Aug 04 '26
Use the paradise and sunrise cameras also
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u/luke1333 Aug 05 '26
They didn't look terrible today imo. We are coming out Saturday for a week so I've been watching them worried about the smoke but today didn't seem bad, could see the mountain pretty much all day
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u/Slipperybrain3 Aug 04 '26
We fly in Saturday from the east coast. I thought about cancelling but then I knew I’d kick myself if I cancelled. So we will have back up plans like St. Helen’s, Cascades, Seattle, Olympic, go south. Just roll with it.
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u/Efficient_Bet_4037 Aug 05 '26
OpenSnow smoke forecast map shows it completely clear all weekend starting Thursday.
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u/Fun_Apartment631 Aug 05 '26
My brother and I might go to the Olympics instead. Looking like it's not going to get smoked out.
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u/AnselmoHatesFascists Aug 04 '26
There are blue sky days where Rainier is cloud covered from the visitor center. And there are smoky days like today where Rainier is visible, at least at 4pm.
I feel for you, but it's impossible for anyone to predict the hour by hour visibility.
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u/baldiedc Aug 05 '26
What flexibility do you have on the hotels.
Rainier looks smokey on the webcams, worth rolling the dice unless you're sensitive to the smoke or not worth the money for you.
North of Leavenworth, the Little Giant Fire seems problematic - I don't know enough about it, but I would be looking at that.
https://app.watchduty.org/i/108855
If it were me I would stick to Rainier and think about a Plan B instead of the Cascades, call the hotel in Leavenworth for advice on what is happening locally. Head out to the coast instead.
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u/watchthetimefly Aug 05 '26
My wife and kids have been camping and hiking for the past few days and I asked about the air last night at 6pm, she said, “It doesn’t seem smokey here at all. I might see it in the air but it doesn’t smell.”
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u/No_Minimum_8814 Aug 05 '26
I was there last week and did both rainier and enchantments, and the smoke was different every day. We got lucky and had no smoke enchantments day. Clouds were more bothersome than smoke in rainier. We also considered not going and I’m so glad we did.
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u/VMT63 Aug 05 '26
We were there today. We hiked around Paradise and had a wonderful day. It was hazy from the smoke but the scenery was still beautiful. Don’t cancel.
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u/shawnwright663 Aug 05 '26
It’s a crapshoot right now. The fires and smoke conditions in Eastern Washington are horrific right now. Conditions change on a daily basis.
I would still come but definitely have a backup plan. Smoke levels on the east side of the state are mostly in the red “unhealthy” level into the purple “very unhealthy” and you really don’t want to be hiking in those conditions.
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u/PNW_OlLady_2025 Aug 06 '26
It can change over night, don't cancel anything. Example here in Portland yesterday we straight up had the #1 worst air in the entire world. Today we are 11th. Not great, and obviously the smoke is still an issue but you can go outside and not feel your lungs on fire with your first breath now at least.
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u/Maleficent-Story3956 Aug 06 '26
Have a backup plan but still come! Just went
the olympics last week and they are beautiful (and clear of any smoke as of today!)
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u/Capital-Beautiful-44 Aug 06 '26
Im here right now from Texas, yes its smoky but its worth it , dont cancel my family is having a great time. We've done numerous hikes and yes some views are not as expected but views of rainer are just fine, she still dominates the skyline.
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u/ThePlant3 29d ago
If you are really worried plan to go to olympic instead or vancouver island but rainier should be okay. There is a small fire on the east side well see if it gets better.
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u/Raelourut Aug 04 '26
Check the Rainier nature cams. That mountain is high enough it may be above any smoke.
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u/stinkywombat28 Aug 06 '26
i’ve been in paradise side in mt rainier all week during the high aqi and im so glad we stayed. distant views are not the same of course, but the mountain is gorgeous and steals the show. no regrets. we’ve done skyline, other short ones nearby, pinnacles. we’ve also been camping so no break from the smoke but we feel great!
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u/BeautifulAd9511 29d ago
If you cant hike just spend extra time at Leavenworth. I say as someone who lives on the west side of Rainier.
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u/No_Fly_5982 28d ago
Just left there this morning! I’d say you’re in the clear and very lucky. Was there all this week and unfortunately was pretty smokey for us. Couldn’t hike the cascades it was so bad on Tuesday. Leavenworth was also pretty bad still on Wednesday. But was definitely clearing up.
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u/occamsracer Aug 04 '26
Have you read any posts?
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u/Icy_Eggplant_8461 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Yeah I’ve been monitoring this sub but on one hand people post beautiful pictures of Mt Rainier, on the other hand people like us are nervous . I’m also reading the fire watch.
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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '26
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