Snow cleared: Chinook and Cayuse passes will open Thursday

The entrance gate to Mount Rainier National Park on state Route 410 will swing open by 8 a.m. Thursday, as Chinook and Cayuse passes open to traffic in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

The two high passes, north of Mount Rainier, are usually closed for about six months each year due to snow. They did not open until June 11 in 2018, and June 9 in 2017.

Chinook Pass at 5,430 feet, along with Washington Pass at 5,477 feet on the North Cascades Highway, are Washington's two highest Cascades crossings. Sherman Pass on state Route 20 in the Kettle Range, at 5, 587 feet, is a bit higher.

The Washington Department of Transportation was pleased with itself as it reported the good news:

It will be some weeks, however, before the famed stretch of Cascade Crest Trail south of Chinook Pass becomes snow free. And a while after that before the trail becomes less buggy. Motorists can watch Tipsoo Lake, just below Chinook Pass, melt free with Mount Rainier as awesome backdrop.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/snow-cleared-chinook-and-cayuse-passes-will-open-thursday/ar-AABKFTI