Disability History Month: Accessibility Resources in Washington’s National Parks


October 1, 2024
A photo of a woman wearing a green beanie at the beach

By Alex Day, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Database

As someone who has lived with a chronic illness – type 1 diabetes – for over two decades, I’m proud to say that my disability does not hold me back from experiencing the great outdoors. That’s in part thanks to the many ways the National Park Service has worked to welcome people of all backgrounds and abilities. (For example, did you know that all US citizens or permanent residents with permanent disabilities are eligible to receive a free lifetime America the Beautiful pass?)

And each of Washington’s national parks does its own part to ensure all visitors feel welcome and able to experience the natural wonders within their boundaries. From an Access for All trails guide (that WNPF donors support!) in Mount Rainier to making ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters available for ranger-led programs in Olympic, living with a disability does not mean you can’t experience and enjoy national parks.

We believe in fostering an environment in the parks where people who experience more life barriers based on their identities can feel welcome and that they belong. This is why we fund projects that fall under our Embracing Inclusion priority project category. View the projects we currently fund in our project portfolio: wnpf.org/our-priorities/projects-we-fund/

Together, we are supporting projects that help foster an environment in the parks where people who experience more life barriers based on their identities can feel welcome and that they belong. Thank you to all of our supporters who play a role in this work!

Accessibility at Olympic

At Olympic National Park, for example, visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing can request an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter for any ranger-led program. Films available in two of the park’s visitor centers have closed-captioning, and assistive listening systems are also available. You can find additional details on resources available, and how to request an interpreter, on the park’s website at nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/deaf-hardofhearing.htm.

Many of Olympic’s facilities are ADA/ABA accessible. Information about accessibility in Olympic’s frontcountry campgrounds, visitor centers, picnic areas, and trails — including trail width, running slope, cross slope, and surface type — is available to visitors planning their trips at nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/physical-mobility-accessibility.htm.

In June of 2022, Ruby Beach underwent construction for a newly graded and paved parking area and access road, new curbs, sidewalks, crosswalks, and steps, renovated restrooms, and a paved overlook with a great view of the beach. Check out this detailed review from Disabled Hikers on Instagram:

Accessibility in North Cascades

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex has detailed information about accessibility for each of the many park facilities and access points available in their Accessibility Index. Visit the park’s website to find detailed information and visual symbols to indicate what facilities and resources are available at the park’s campgrounds, trails, visitor centers, and more.

Find the Index at nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/accessibility-index.htm.

Screen capture of a page out of North Cascades National Park's Accessibility Page.
In spring of 2024, WNPF community members volunteered to clean up the Gorge Overlook Trail, which is a partially paved trail. Volunteers cleared overgrown brush and moved any fallen trees across the path. You can find this sign at the parking lot with detaied trail grade information.

In addition to funding projects in the parks, we also do our best to bring the parks to the people through our Virtual Field Trips (VFT). Since 2020, we have featured ranger programs, wildlife research, geology talks, an even waste management in the parks! You can explore the parks in our more than 50 VFT episodes. View our YouTube channel with this link: youtube.com/@wanatlparkfund/playlists

Explore the North Cascades through this Soundscapes Virtual Field Trip from 2020. There are so many more great, engaging, and interesting VFTs like this on our YouTube channel.

Accessibility at Mount Rainier

As the country’s fifth national park, established in 1899, Mount Rainier and many of its developed areas predate laws requiring fully accessible facilities — but the park is working hard to ensure that all visitors can experience and enjoy the park.

Mount Rainier National Park’s website includes a dedicated webpage with resources for visitors with accommodation requests, including detailed information about trails and facilities, at nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm.

Mount Rainier’s park brochure is available in a variety of formats, including MP3 audio description, UniD mobile app (which provides text only or an audio version), and as a printable Braille file. Visitors with accessibility questions or accommodation requests can make requests to the contact info at the bottom of this page.

Your Gifts Enhance Accessibility at Mount Rainier

In 2022, WNPF donors funded a project at Mount Rainier called Access for All: Evaluating and Creating Digital Trails Guide. This project, identified by Mount Rainier National Park staff and leadership as a top priority, will fund the purchase and staffing for a High-Efficiency Trail Assessment Process tool (HETAP) that measures distance, grade, substrate, and other information to evaluate trails and facilities for individuals with a wide range of accessibility needs.

A photo of a person in a wheelchair explores the trails on Mount Rainier National Park.
The Access for All project will produce a guide to help park visitors identify accessible parking, restrooms, campsites, and trails. Photo above (and cover) by NPS.

The end goal is to create an online guide with photos and detailed descriptions of recreational options throughout the park. The HETAP will also be shared with Olympic and North Cascades National Park staff, to allow those parks to increase accessibility and empower visitors to be able to plan their park adventures with confidence.

In 2023, funds from this project also supported a summer position, where the staff person was able to take updated photos and write new accessibility web content for Paradise, Sunrise, Ohanapecosh, Longmire, and the Carbon and Mowich Lake areas. Find accessibility pages for each area in this park site: nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/accessibility.htm

In 2024, this project has evolved even further to expand accessible opportunities in historic facilities and remote locations. The park shared in a social media post that “new content specific to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or have low vision, neurodiverse, and with limited mobility is now available. Information on accessible facilities and exhibits has been greatly expanded.

Three downloadable social narratives are now available to help prepare for a visit to Mount Rainier. Social narratives are pre-visit guides for individuals with cognitive disabilities that highlight what visitors may encounter during a trip to the park.” These exciting updates to the park’s accessibility was made possible by WNPF donors – thank you!

Spending time in and around the park soon? Check out Visit Rainier’s Accessible Tourism Guide. This guide lists various accessible lodging options, van rentals, attractions, and more.

Accessibility Across the National Park Service

Traveling beyond Washington’s three national parks? Check out the National Park Service Accessibility page, with links to detailed information for each NPS unit, trip ideas, available accommodations, and to its Disability History series, which “brings attention to some of the many disability stories interwoven across more than 400 national parks and National Park Service programs.” You can find it at nps.gov/subjects/accessibility/index.htm.

Also, be sure to download the NPS Mobile App, which, in conjunction with your mobile device’s built-in features, is fully accessible, including alternative text for images and audio descriptions of exhibits along trails, roads, and visitor centers.

National Park Access Passes

And don’t forget to get your National Park Access Pass! This pass, part of the America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Series, is free for US citizens or permanent residents with a permanent disability.

The National Park Access Pass is a free, lifetime pass for individuals with disabilities.

You can get your pass in person at a national park or federal recreation site, or through the mail using an application form. Find additional details on the Access Pass at nps.gov/subjects/accessibility/access-pass.htm.

WNPF’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Alex Day, has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 20 years and obtained her Access Pass during the pandemic. Since then, she has been able to experience public lands (including climbing Mount Rainier with diabetes) and the many benefits that spending time outdoors has on her health. Get detailed steps on how to obtain the pass and read Alex’s tips on how to get outdoors with diabetes.

Learn More & Be Inspired

Finally, if you’d like to learn more about outdoor opportunities for people with disabilities and find ways to help promote inclusivity in outdoor recreation, the Disabled Hikers Instagram (@disabledhikers) and website, disabledhikers.com, are great places to start. Founded by Syren Nagakyrie of Forks, Washington, Disabled Hikers is an entirely disabled-led nonprofit organization that celebrates and facilitates disabled peoples’ experiences in the outdoors. Syren’s first book, The Disabled Hiker’s Guide to Western Washington and Oregon, was just published by Falcon Guides in 2022 and has already sold out its first printing.

Syren also wrote a guest blog for WNPF in April 2020. Her post, “Disabled Hikers – Love Your Self, Love Your Place,” along with WNPF guest blogger Dana Lawson’s story of taking on trails in Olympic National Park with mobility issues from an amputation, are beautifully written perspectives and well worth a read this Disability History and Awareness Month.

Washington’s National Park Fund is committed to equity and inclusion of all people, a commitment we share with the National Park Service and Washington’s three largest national parks. We strongly believe that by actively funding projects that give access and opportunities to traditionally underrepresented communities — and by building an organization whose donors and partners represent diverse cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences — we become more fruitful stewards and champions of Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks. Learn more about our efforts.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 4, 2022 and updated annually, most recently on October 1, 2024.