Escape Your Everyday and Explore the Wonders of the PNW

9/28/23 Update Regarding a Potential Government Shutdown

We understand that the possibility of a government shutdown can add unwanted stress to your travel. You can remove one concern by choosing Evergreen Escapes to get you out enjoying the wild and scenic Washington State that you have traveled to experience. We have plans in place to help you still explore Washington's National Parks, no matter what the outcome is with the shutdown. While we are still awaiting what the extent of the closures will be, here's what we can say from past experience:

Olympic National Park - There are endless destinations within the Olympic Peninsula to be explored - more than we possibly could in a day. Some of these are behind gated park entrances and others are not. If the gated areas of Olympic National Park are closed due to staff furloughs, there are plenty more destinations that will still accessible to visitors. At this time, we do not foresee any challenges with taking travelers to explore the diverse Olympic Peninsula, including Olympic National Park, even if a government shut down were to go into affect.

Mount Rainier National Park - During the most recent government shutdown in 2019, Mount Rainier kept access to the park open to visitors, but closed services like visitor centers and museums when their staff was furloughed. If they respond in a similar manner, we will still visit the park since losing these services will not drastically impact the tour experience. Should the park decide to close the gates, there are destinations accessible on the east side of the mountain that we will explore instead. This option would result in a slightly longer drive (~30 minutes longer each way) and a later return time of around 7:30pm. These areas are seldom visited by travelers since there is less infrastructure for those unfamiliar, but our guides have extensive experience visiting these areas, and can get you access to the nature experience you have traveled for.

Mount Saint Helens National Monument - We don't foresee much impact to our Mount Saint Helens tour. The road within the monument will stay open, as it is a state road, and one of the primary visitor centers we visit is operated by the State of Washington which would not impacted by a federal shutdown.