Wonderland Trail emergency & health guide: hospitals, rescue, 911 and PLBs

Emergency numbers

Most of the park has no cell coverage, so carry a personal locator beacon (PLB) or a two-way satellite messenger, keep your phone in airplane mode to save the battery, and use the emergency phones in the main visitor areas if you reach one. Leave your itinerary with someone at home, check the trail conditions and fire pages and the weather forecast before you start, and cross glacial rivers early in the morning.

Rules to know

• A wilderness permit is required for every night in the backcountry, all year. Full-loop hikers may camp only in designated camps on their permit (no cross-country camping), for up to 13 nights on one permit. In 2026 the fee is $12 per person per night (age 15 and under free) plus $6 per trip, by card only.
• Booking: apply for the Early Access Lottery on Recreation.gov in February; winners get a slot in March or April to make one reservation. Remaining camps go on general sale on April 25, and about a third of summer sites are walk-up permits issued in person the day of the trip or the day before.
• Activate your permit in person at the Longmire, Paradise or White River Wilderness Information Center (photo ID, emergency contact, vehicle details), no earlier than the day before. The reservation is cancelled if you have not checked in by noon on the start day.
• Party size: up to 5 people per individual site; groups of 6 to 12 need a camp with a group site. Fires are never allowed in the wilderness; gas, white-gas and alcohol stoves are fine, wood-burning stoves are not.
• Food storage: hang food, trash and toiletries on the bear poles or use the bear boxes, and never keep food in your tent. From early October the poles are taken down and a bear canister is required. Do not feed or approach wildlife.
• Food caches (July to September): only at the Longmire Wilderness Information Center and White River Campground, in labelled rodent-proof containers. Mail them at least two weeks ahead (UPS or FedEx only to Longmire) or drop them off; fuel cannot be mailed. No caching at Mowich Lake while the Fairfax Bridge is closed.
• 2026: the trail is closed from the Carbon River suspension bridge to Frozen Lake near Sunrise, with Dick Creek, Mystic and Granite Creek camps, because of the Garda Falls Fire, and no full-circuit permits are issued until further notice. Since April 2025 the SR 165 Fairfax Bridge has been closed to all traffic, so Mowich Lake and Carbon River can only be reached along the trail.
• River crossings: glacial rivers rise during the day and footlogs and bridges wash out, especially after autumn rain. Cross early, turn back if it looks unsafe (rangers can adjust your permit), and check the trail conditions page for missing bridges.
• The park entrance fee is extra: $30 per private vehicle or $15 per person on foot (7 days), $55 for the Mount Rainier annual pass, or an America the Beautiful pass ($80 for US residents, $250 for non-residents). The park is cashless.
• Pets are not allowed on park trails (except leashed on the Pacific Crest Trail), nor are bicycles in the backcountry. Launching or flying a drone anywhere in the park is prohibited. Pack out all trash and stay on the trail in the fragile meadows.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Clinics and ranger stations

There is no clinic or doctor in the park, at Longmire, at Paradise or in Ashford. Rangers at the Longmire, Paradise and White River Wilderness Information Centers (summer only) can help and call for an ambulance. The nearest small hospital is in Morton; for minor problems after the hike there is a community health center in Morton.

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies:
• ATMs:
• Shops:
• Trailheads and parking:

There is no pharmacy in the park, at Longmire or in Ashford, and the USA has no duty-pharmacy rota; the Longmire General Store sells only basic groceries. Buy all your medicines, blister care and insect repellent in Puyallup, Tacoma, Enumclaw or Morton before you drive in. There is no power at the camps: carry a power bank.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.