Mount Rainier National Park (/r eɪ . ˈn ɪər/ ray-NEER) is a national park in the United States located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was created on March 2, 1899, and became the fourth national park in the United States. It protects 236,381 acres (369.3 square miles; 956.6 square kilometers), including Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot (4,390-meter) stratovolcano. The mountain rises suddenly from the surrounding land, with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490–4,300 meters). Mount Rainier is the highest point in the Cascade Range and is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and 91,000 acres (142.2 square miles; 368.3 square kilometers) of old-growth forest. More than 25 glaciers flow down the sides of the volcano, which is often covered by clouds that bring heavy rain and snow.
The park has several entrances that lead to three main areas: Paradise, the Carbon River and Mowich Lake area, and Sunrise. In 2024, the park welcomed over 1.6 million visitors. Mount Rainier is surrounded by the Wonderland Trail and has glaciers and snowfields covering about 35 square miles (91 square kilometers). Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest by area. Mount Rainier is a popular mountain for climbing, with about 10,000 attempts made each year. Approximately half of those who try reach the summit.
History
Ninety-seven percent of the park is protected as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System, known as Mount Rainier Wilderness. This designation was given in 1988. The park is next to the Tatoosh, Clearwater, Glacier View, and William O. Douglas Wilderness areas. The park was named a National Historic Landmark on February 18, 1997, because it shows examples of National Park Service rustic-style architecture from the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Paradise Inn. As a Historic Landmark district, the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The mountain’s name in the Lushootseed language is "Tacoma," which is pronounced "Taquoma," the same as a nearby city in the Puget Sound region.
The earliest signs of human activity in the area now known as Mount Rainier National Park are a projectile point found along Bench Lake Trail. This artifact is dated to about 4,000–5,800 years before the present time. A more significant archaeological discovery was a rock shelter near Fryingpan Creek, east of Goat Island Mountain. Hunting tools were found there. The shelter was not used year-round. Evidence suggests the site was used by Columbia Plateau Tribes between 1,000 and 300 years before the present time.
In 1963, the National Park Service hired Washington State University to study how Native Americans used the Mount Rainier area. Richard D. Daugherty led an archaeological study and found that people lived in the area most heavily between 8,000 and 4,500 years before the present time. Allan H. Smith interviewed Native American elders and studied old writings. He found no evidence of permanent homes in the park. Instead, the area was used for hunting, gathering, and occasional spiritual activities. Smith also thought the park was divided among five tribes along watershed boundaries: the Nisqually, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Yakama, and Taidnapam (Upper Cowlitz). Later studies questioned whether the tribes agreed on these boundaries before signing treaties with the United States in 1854–55.
The Mount Rainier Forest Preserve should be made a national park and protected while it is still beautiful. If nature had parks in mind as places for rest, inspiration, and reflection, the Rainier region must be one of them.
On March 2, 1899, President William McKinley signed a law passed by Congress to create Mount Rainier National Park, the nation’s fifth national park. It was the first national park created from a national forest. The Pacific Forest Reserve, established in 1893, included Mount Rainier. It was expanded in 1897 and renamed the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve. John Muir visited Mount Rainier in 1888. Muir and nine others, including Edward Sturgis Ingraham, Charles Piper, and P. B. Van Trump, climbed to the summit, marking the fifth recorded ascent.
The trip to Mount Rainier helped Muir regain his energy and commit to protecting nature as national parks. At the time, national forests were being created across the American West under the idea of "conservation-through-use" promoted by Gifford Pinchot. Muir became known as a "preservationist," advocating for nature to be protected in national parks. However, in the 1890s, more people supported national forests than national parks. During that time, Muir and his supporters managed to protect only one national forest as a national park. When the Pacific Forest Reserve was created in 1893, Muir quickly convinced the Sierra Club to support making Rainier a national park. Other groups, such as the National Geographic Society and scientific organizations, also supported preserving the area for studying volcanoes and glaciers. Business leaders in Tacoma and Seattle, along with the Northern Pacific Railway, supported the effort. The movement took over five years and involved six attempts to pass a bill in Congress. Congress finally agreed, but only after ensuring the park would not be used for farming or mining and that no federal money would be needed for its management.
Mount Rainier National Park closed in November 2006 due to heavy flooding caused by the Pineapple Express rainstorm. In 36 hours, 18 inches of rain fell, washing away campsites and roads. Power was cut to Paradise and Longmire. Sunshine Point Campground, near the Nisqually Entrance, was destroyed and has not reopened. Parts of the Carbon River Road, once a vehicle entrance, were also damaged and remain closed to cars. On May 5, 2007, the park reopened to vehicles via State Route 706 at the Nisqually Entrance.
In November 2022, the National Park Service announced that access to the south side of the park beyond Longmire would be closed on weekdays because of limited staff. Several recreation areas, such as a sledding hill, were also closed for the rest of the winter. This decision was not popular with recreation groups and was changed in 2023 to allow winter access to Paradise from Thursdays through Mondays.
Starting in 2024, timed entry reservations will be required for vehicles using entrances on the Paradise and Sunrise corridors during daylight hours in the peak summer months. This system was introduced to manage the large number of visitors, as 70% of the park’s 1.6 million annual visitors come between July and September, causing traffic problems. The National Park Service also considered using parking permits and bus shuttles from a remote parking lot, like systems at other parks. For the 2025 season, reservations were required in the Sunrise corridor from July to September on all days and from September to October on weekends and holidays. Access to the Paradise corridor returned to a first-come, first-served system. The Mowich entrance was closed due to a state decision to stop traffic on the Fairfax Bridge, which carries State Route 165 over the Carbon River near the entrance.
Biology
Mount Rainier National Park has an Alpine Meadows and Barren, also known as Alpine tundra (52), as its potential vegetation type. Within this type, the park also includes Alpine Meadow (11) as a potential vegetation form. The park has many different types of plants because the climate and environment change across its 12,800-foot elevation range. Scientists have identified more than 960 types of vascular plants and more than 260 types of nonvascular plants in the park.
Mammals living in the park include cougar, black bear, raccoon, coyote, bobcat, snowshoe hare, weasel, mole, beaver, red fox, porcupine, skunk, marmot, deer, marten, shrew, pika, elk, and mountain goat. Common birds in the park, including raptors, are thrush, chickadee, kinglet, northern goshawk, willow flycatcher, spotted owl, Steller’s jay, Clark’s nutcracker, bald eagle, ptarmigan, harlequin duck, grouse, peregrine falcon, Canada jay, golden eagle, grosbeak, and finch.
Fish that live in the lakes, rivers, and streams of the park include bull trout, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, and sculpins. Anadromous fish enter the park during their migration periods. Chinook salmon and coho salmon, which are rare in the park, sometimes spawn in the White, West Fork, Puyallup, Mowich, and Carbon watersheds. Pink salmon spawn in large numbers in the White River near the park boundary during odd-numbered years. Because of past stocking and damming of rivers near the park, the original numbers of most salmon are unknown.
Climate
Mount Rainier National Park has a climate that is influenced by the Mediterranean and is classified as either humid continental (Dsb) or subarctic (Dsc), depending on the height above sea level. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the area near Sunrise Visitor Center, which is located at an elevation of 6,398 feet (1,950 meters), falls within Plant Hardiness Zone 6a. This zone has an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -5.5°F (-20.8°C).
The National Park Service states that "Paradise" is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly. In the 1971/72 season, 93.5 feet (28,500 mm) of snow fell, which was a world record for that year. Later, in the 1998/99 season, Mount Baker Ski Area received 95 feet (28,956 mm) of snow. Paradise also holds the Cascade Range record for the most snow on the ground, with 30.583 feet (9,321.7 mm) recorded on March 10, 1956.
Major attractions
The entire park was named a National Historic Landmark District on February 18, 1997, because of the high quality of its design and the good condition of its rustic-style buildings. The park has 42 places listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including four National Historic Landmarks.
The park’s most popular natural features change with the seasons. In spring, snow and waterfalls can be seen from many trails and areas of the park. In summer, wildflowers bloom in July and August, drawing many visitors.
Between 2008 and 2019, more than 10,000 people each year tried to climb Mount Rainier’s summit. A fee is collected by the National Park Service to pay for rangers, camp staff, and search-and-rescue services. As of 2024, three companies are allowed to provide guided mountain climbing services all year. Single-trip guides are also available through 15 other services approved by the National Park Service. From 1967 to 1997, RMI Expeditions was the only company allowed to lead climbs until other companies were added to increase competition.
Paradise is an area at about 5,400 feet (1,600 meters) on the southern slope of Mount Rainier. It is the most popular place in the park for visitors. In 2000, 62% of the over 1.3 million people who visited the park went to Paradise. Located near the Paradise River, Paradise has the historic Paradise Inn, built in 1916; Paradise Guide House, built in 1920; and Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center, built in 1966 and rebuilt in 2008.
Longmire is a visitor center in Mount Rainier National Park, located 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) east of the Nisqually Entrance. The area is named after James Longmire, an early settler in Puget Sound. It is in the Nisqually River valley at an elevation of 2,761 feet (842 meters) between The Ramparts Ridge and the Tatoosh Range. Old-growth Douglas fir, western red cedar, and western hemlock trees surround Longmire. Longmire is home to Mount Rainier’s National Park Inn, the Longmire Museum, and the 1928 National Park Service Administration Building, now a Wilderness Information Center. The National Park Inn is the only place in the park open all year. Longmire is the second most popular destination in the park, with 38% of the over 1.3 million visitors in 2000 visiting it. The Cougar Rock Campground is about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) northwest of Longmire, with 173 campsites and 5 group sites. It is open from late May through late September. Longmire is one of the starting points for the Wonderland Trail.
Sunrise is a lodge and visitor center in the northeastern part of the park. At an elevation of 6,400 feet (1,950 meters), it is the highest point in the park reachable by car. Trails around Sunrise include Mount Fremont, Burroughs Mountain, and Sourdough Ridge. The lodge is reached via a 10-mile (16-kilometer) turnoff from State Route 410 near the White River entrance.
Ohanapecosh is a campground with 188 individual sites and 2 group sites, open from late May through late September. It also has a visitor center and ranger station in the southeastern part of the park, about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the park boundary off State Route 123. Located in a deep valley among old-growth forests at an elevation below 2,000 feet (610 meters), it is the only developed area in the park without a view of Mount Rainier. The Ohanapecosh Hot Springs, Grove of the Patriarchs, and Silver Falls are all in this area.
The Carbon River Entrance Station is in the northwest corner of the park off State Route 165 and is the site of the only rainforest in Mount Rainier. There is a campground, a short trail through the rainforest, and a trail to the Carbon Glacier, one of the lowest glaciers in the contiguous United States.
Mowich Lake is the largest and deepest lake in the park, located south of Carbon at the south end of State Route 165. A campground, picnic area, and hiking trail are near the lake.
The two major roads into the northwest part of the park were seriously damaged by floods in 2006. The ranger station at the Carbon River entrance is staffed during the summer. No motor vehicles are allowed beyond that point.
Transportation
Mount Rainier National Park is mostly entered by cars. In 2021, more than 1 million vehicles carried most of the 2.4 million visitors to the park. The Nisqually Entrance is reached through State Route 706. State Route 410 goes through the northeast part of the park. State Route 123 links the southeast side of the park to State Route 410 and U.S. Route 12.
A regional airport was suggested for several locations in southern Pierce County, which are 17 to 23 miles (27 to 37 km) from the park. The park superintendent and environmental groups disagreed with the plan because it could harm wildlife through noise and air pollution, as well as increase traffic near the park's entrances.