Those months are generally July, August, September, and part of October. By contrast, visitors interested in climbing Mount Rainier are advised to do it in early summer when route conditions are best. For your safety, do not hike alone. Backpackers, and anyone else who camps outside of auto campgrounds, must obtain a free Wilderness Camping Permit before camping. Permits are required year-round and are issued in person only after you arrive in the park.
All campgrounds have a primitive toilet and a nearby untreated water supply.
These vast areas are segmented into zones for management purposes, and each zone has a capacity for numbers of allowable parties per night camped in that zone. Party size may not exceed 5. Choose crosscountry camping only if you are adept with map and compass and in excellent physical condition for enduring the additional challenge of crosscountry travel. There are both lower forest and subalpine crosscountry zones. Like crosscountry areas, the alpine area is also segmented into zones, most of which have capacities on the number of parties camped per night.