Carbon River Ranger Station — Local services in Prairie Ridge

I am a local, a Washingtonian, and a frequenter. Many visitors from around the world visit this park, throughout the year, for many different reasons. Some picnic, hike, backpack, backcountry camp, mountain bike, mushroom pick, snowshoe, or winter camp. The staff is more likely to be apt and helpful to groups or individuals who respect, appreciate, and support the National Park Service, its lands, and the surrounding areas. I was first introduced to this area in 2002, when cars and fires were allowed at Ipsut Campground. (No longer allowed) Even then some visitors showed a lack of respect for the land, polluting, and poaching trees for firewood. Unfortunately, some of that still goes on today. This area is extremely rich in history, from logging to mining, with nearby Fairfax and Melmont ghost towns, and even abandoned mines within the Park. (Which explains The Washington Milling and Mining Co. mine, within the park.) Coal mining began in 1896, and the first shipment of coal left in 1899. The coke ovens are still visible in Wilkeson today. In 1891, the Forest Reserve Act was established. In 1893, the Pacific Forest Reserve was established. Then changed again in 1898, to the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve. This combined lands together, but not until 1899, with the signature of President McKinley, was the Mount Rainier National Park officially created. Many logging and mining companies struggled, and went bust after world war one. The introduction and demand of oil, decreased the demand of coal from this area. Soon afterwards, in 1920, Melmont, where the present day O'Farrell Bridge is, became a ghost town. Fairfax followed suit in 1941, after the Post Office closed. Interestingly, the bridge construction was not completed until 1921. This meant that in the past, the only way towards Mt. Rainier, other than by foot, was by passenger railcars. These once bustling logging and mining towns, are faintly visible along the present day Fairfax road (State Route 165). They leave behind remnants of their mortar foundations, water storage bunkers, schoolhouse swimming pool, railcar turntables, and even a community dump, where some hunt for antique treasures. In their glory days, these towns looked very similar to the historic buildings that still stand in Wilkeson today. Besides Mt Tahoma, later renamed Mt Rainier, and the Carbon Glacier, the Carbon river is a key attraction. Some say the glacial silt in the water, may hold nutritional value. The Carbon river is a braided river. This means that debris from the Carbon glacier, are constantly washing down river, changing the river's flow and route, and also depositing and damming up debris along the riverbeds. This is a major contributing factor to frequent trail washouts, because it is essentially one big debris slide. They say if you hear a sound similar to a freight train, that a moving lahar of this debris is heading downriver, and to quickly head for high ground! As you hike along the trail, you may see some of the stumps that still bear the springboard cutouts, the lumberjacks cut, so many years ago. Ask the Rangers. They are very helpful. Thanks...

Ranger was on the phone when we stepped in, so we looked around a bit. Lots of useful information, and when he got off the phone, he had us keep some of the pamphlets. The entrance up ahead doesn't have much parking at all - we visited on a weekday when it was still winter (right at the end of winter), so I imagine in a weekend, or in any other season, parking might be impossible to come by, unless you just park in this lot and make a trek to the park entrance.

Five stars for the ranger station. Read on if you're planning to visit.

Over the winter from '22-23, many trees on the loop next to the parking lot (on the right side, facing the park) fell. This made parts of the loop apparently inaccessible, and we didn't want to accidentally harm or disturb nature, so we stayed on obvious trails. This trail wasn't particularly exciting to us, and it was a bit steep, so if you aren't fit, I wouldn't recommend it.

We also went on a trail straight ahead from the parking lot. It started off paved, but eventually became a trail along the Carbonado River, partially covered in snow. It was magical. I usually don't like huge wide trails like this, but we saw some nature (cute squirrels and birds), tons of lush vegetation, great views of the river (and little tiny waterfalls for people who like that sound), and we even got snowed on a little! Since it was winter, and in the middle of the week, almost nobody was around. It was one of the most magical, spiritual, amazing experiences of my life. We went deep enough that we could even see some glaciers.

I HIGHLY recommend this route for the winter time. There was almost no snow on the road, and just enough snow in the path that it felt like a winter wonderland. I hope I'm lucky enough to have another experience like this for the rest of my life.

And outside of gas, the experience was FREE. The ranger told us that it was free that day - no paying for parking or National Park entrance or anything. I don't understand how I got so lucky. I am blessed. I hope just ONE of you who reads this review gets as...

The ginger ranger should leave this day job and go find something more like....a medical examiner position or perhaps a Boeing assembly line inspector where he can't offend and insult people with his condescension and state trooper-like demands. I requested to purchase a permit to park and hike in the nearby trailhead to Greenlake and was treated like a criminal. I held out my visa and was told "I need to see your ID." I handed him my ID and he barked "I need to see the ID next to your visa." Okay, buddy. No smile, no introduction, no "have fun." Definitely disappointed my expectation of a person who should appreciate interaction with people enjoying the beauty of Mt Rainier and the surrounding area. Go for a hike, have a beer, and try to remember what propelled you into this...