Mount Rainier National Park ⓘ

The land administered as Mount Rainier National Park has been since time immemorial the Ancestral homeland of the Cowlitz, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin Island, Yakama, and Coast Salish people. By following Elders’ instructions passed through generations, these Indigenous Peoples remain dedicated caretakers of this landscape. Their Traditional Knowledge and Management of this Sacred Land will endure in perpetuity, and we honor each nation’s traditions of landscape stewardship in our endeavors to care for, protect, and preserve the features and values of the mountain.

From the Native American tribes who gathered resources in the area for millennia to the bustling park that exists on the land today, a wide variety of groups have found meaning and importance in the mountain now called Mount Rainier. All of these groups mapped their values on the landscape and contributed to a broader sense of what the area should be. Though these values were often very different and sometimes conflicted, they all played a part in shaping Mount Rainier National Park. The mountain is a product of its past in more than just a geological sense: understanding the human history of Mount Rainier is crucial to realizing the intricacy of the mountain today.

"Artwork by Michael Stasinos, originally published in “Berkeley Rockshelter Lithics: Understanding the Late Holocene Use of the Mount Rainier Area.” Bradford W. Andrews, Kipp O. Godfrey, and Greg C. Burtchard. Journal of Northwest Anthropology, 50(2):16

For millennia, the ancestors of modern tribes came to the mountain seasonally to hunt and gather resources. In subalpine regions, early humans hunted mountain goats and gathered huckleberries and other plants. In the lower-elevation forests, they collected cedar bark to weave into baskets and hats and fished in the rivers flowing from the mountain. Far from being an “untouched” wilderness, the landscape of the mountain has long been utilized and shaped by humans.

Many of these traditional activities continue to this day. Tribal members return to the park to camp and recreate. Each of the tribes associated with the mountain have their own names for this iconic peak: Tahoma, Takhoma, Tacoma, Ta-co-bet, Taqo ma, Tkobed, Taqo bid, Tkomen, Nutselip, Pshwawanoapami-tahoma, and others.

The mountain captivated early European and American visitors. Captain George Vancouver of the British Royal Navy observed the mountain while surveying the Pacific coast in 1792 and decided to name the mountain after his friend, Rear Admiral Peter Rainier. Rear Admiral Rainier never saw the mountain named for him in person.

In 1854-1855 three tribal treaties, the Treaty of Medicine Creek, the Treaty of Point Elliot, and the Treaty with the Yakama, ceded lands of the Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squaxin, Yakama, and other bands to the United States, including the area around Mount Rainier. The treaties include provisions that native people could continue to hunt and gather on the land, though interpretation of the treaties varied.

Mountaineers made some of the first non-native incursions on land, eager to summit the iconic peak. P.B. Van Trump and General Hazard Stevens made the first recorded climb of the mountain in 1870, after being led to a basecamp near Paradise by a native guide known as Sluiskin. Other climbers and explorers would soon follow. In 1883, James Longmire, on his way down from summiting the mountain, found a mineral spring and opened a hotel and spa there not long after. The entrepreneurial spirit and scenic appreciation for the mountain that drove Longmire would emerge as key themes in the future development of Mount Rainier National Park.

It was not predetermined that Mount Rainier would become a national park. A growing interest in timber led to the formation of the Pacific Forest Reserve in 1893, a rough square, thirty-five miles on a side, with Mount Rainier’s summit on the western edge. Then in 1897, the area was renamed the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve and the boundaries were greatly enlarged to the west and south. Several mining claims were made in the area and some of the early explorers, like Bailey Willis, were geologists surveying the area for minerals.

However, scientists, mountaineers, conservation groups, local businesses, and large railroad companies all saw some possible benefit from a national park around Mount Rainier. They combined their often-disparate interests into a lobbying campaign starting in 1893. It stressed the potential for tourism from the nearby cities of Seattle and Tacoma, the unsuitability of land for other commercial purposes like agriculture and grazing, and a need to preserve the unique glacial landscape for further study. After hesitant congressmen received assurances that the park would not come as an added expense to the government, the bill passed in 1899. Mount Rainier became the nation’s fifth national park.

The advent of automobiles increased the accessibility of the park but also created new challenges. The Nisqually Entrance Road, also called Government Road, was the first road constructed in the park beginning in 1904. The road was planned by a landscape architect to artfully move visitors through the mountainous landscape to Longmire and then to Paradise. Mount Rainier was the first national park to allow personal vehicles and to collect entrance fees in 1907. The road to Paradise Park was finished in 1911, making travel to the mountain even easier.

Development at the park grew at a torrid and often chaotic pace. Visitation ballooned from 1,786 in 1906 to 34,814 nine years later and park administrators struggled to keep up with the constant demand for more roads, lodging, and other services. Concurrent with the growth in tourist activity was an increased commercial interest in the natural resources of the park. During the first fifteen years of the park’s existence and in the absence of established regulations, mining, water development, and timber schemes sprang up but met with limited success. Congress passed legislation in 1908 preventing further mining claims within the park, and remaining claims were slowly bought back over the following decades.

The creation of the National Park Service in 1916 brought significant changes to Mount Rainier. Park rangers began to take on a greater role in managing the park, including starting interpretive programs in 1921. This early period before the Great Depression was also key for the development of park infrastructure . At Longmire , a new style of architecture was being developed. Early buildings like the Longmire Library (1910) and Museum (1916), were simple, wooden structures. In designing the Longmire Administration Building in the 1920s, National Park Service architects in San Francisco decided to make a building that looks like it belonged here: a rustic building constructed with local stone and wood echoing the surrounding forests and mountains. Soon to be known as “National Park Service Rustic”, this style of architecture became a model for buildings across the National Park Service. At Mount Rainier, NPS Rustic architecture can be found in the design of numerous buildings in the park, as well as historic structures like Christine Falls Bridge. Some experimentation in design can be found in the park as well. The Paradise Inn , modeled after a European alpine resort, opened in 1917, while plans to develop Sunrise envisioned structures in the style of a frontier fort.

During the Great Depression, the park was forced to shift its goals and priorities. Visitation initially fell, leading to new efforts to attract sightseers. A nine-hole golf course at Paradise and plans for a ski lift provide just a few examples. The Sunrise Road was completed in 1931, but the frontier fort-style buildings, now home to the Sunrise Visitor Center, took several years to finish. The Sunrise Lodge was never fully completed and was left as a day lodge. Cabins around the lodge were sold off to the Defense Department during WWII as worker housing.

President Roosevelt’s "New Deal" brought new funding to Mount Rainier. Between 1933-1940, over 1,000 men from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) came each summer to work on trail construction, campground improvement, and forest fire protection. A boundary expansion in 1931 pushed the park’s boundary east to the Cascade Range, bringing the Ohanapecosh area within the park boundaries.

Funding and visitation plummeted during World War II, though the park did find new use as a training ground for the army’s new mountain divisions .

After World War II, the focus of the park shifted toward managing the extreme increase in visitor use. During the mid-1950s, the federal government’s Mission 66 project sought to upgrade and expand visitor facilities at national parks while relieving the congestion that accompanied increased day use. Mount Rainier was the first national park to develop a Mission 66 plan as the park exemplified several nationwide trends – greater use of cars, shorter stays, and growing use overall. The program provided money for new park buildings, roads, and trails to ease congestion and spread use around the park.

At Mount Rainier National Park, a good example of Mission 66 is the development of the Ohanapecosh Area as an alternative to the crowded Paradise and Sunrise areas. The Ohanapecosh Visitor Center was completed in 1964 and the campground was greatly expanded with additional loops. Improved employee housing and maintenance facilities were constructed. The east and west sides of the park were finally linked in 1957 when Stevens Canyon Road was completed, 25 years after it was started, connecting Ohanapecosh to Paradise with a new picnic area at Box Canyon. At Paradise, a new road route was constructed, and the old road turned into a one-way scenic loop, the Paradise Valley Road, to better guide the flow of increased traffic in the popular area. A new visitor center was also built at Paradise. Based on Mount Rainier as a prototype, Mission 66 aimed to absorb the impact of larger numbers of visitors without “impairment” to the parks by rearranging the patterns of visitor use. The renewed focus on visitor use did correspond to a decreased interest in the natural resource program. In what was a larger trend across the National Park Service, funding for environmental monitoring fell and did not rebound until the early 1960s.

Increased visitor use led to increased impact on the natural resources of the park and a realization that more was needed to preserve them for the enjoyment of all. Though visitation has shown considerable variability, it swelled to over 2.5 million people visiting the park in 1977. Attempts to summit Mount Rainier had grown almost tenfold since 1965. In response to these shifts, the park zoned the mountain into different use areas to manage the various impacts of recreation. After the Wilderness Act of 1964 and a boom in wilderness recreation during the late 1960s, a new backcountry management plan was created in 1973. Under the plan, restrictions on campfires, horse use, and camping site capacity aimed to minimize damage to wilderness areas. The Washington Wilderness Act of 1988 designated 97% of the park as wilderness, giving these lands greater protection against development.

Coinciding with the broader environmental movement and the passage of the Clean Air Act (1970), Clean Water Act (1972), and Endangered Species Act (1973), the park management refocused on meadow restoration efforts, more intensive surveys of the park’s wildlife and plants, and studies of the mountain’s glaciers and rivers. Between 1915 and 1972, over nine million fish were stocked into lakes and streams within Mount Rainier National Park. The park historically prioritized recreational fishing, but a better understanding of natural ecosystems brought recognition that non-native fish compete with native fish and amphibians. Fish stocking was halted after 1972. However, approximately 35 mountain lakes within the park continue to support breeding populations of non-native fish to this day and fishing is encouraged to reduce non-native fish amounts.

As designated wilderness and a National Historic Landmark District, Mount Rainier National Park has a strong obligation to protect both the natural and cultural resources of the park. At the same time, visitation has continued to grow, with congestion at park entrances, parking lots, and visitor areas impacting visitor experiences. Efforts to modernize the park have included building a new visitor center at Paradise in 2008, replacing the exhibits in the Sunrise Visitor Center in 2010, and updating outdoor exhibit panels throughout the park. Historic structures like the Paradise Inn (2006-2008), Chinook Entrance Arch (2012), and the Paradise Inn Annex (2019) were rehabilitated to ensure their continued use into the future while still preserving their historic character. New exhibits and facilities incorporated better accessibility standards so visitors of all abilities could utilize them. At Carbon River, a new ranger station, located in a remodeled property just outside of the park’s entrance, opened in 2013. Designated use areas for tribes were established in 2015 at Longmire for the Nisqually Tribe and in 2016 at Ohanapecosh for the Cowlitz Tribe, part of ongoing efforts to improve co-stewardship with the mountain’s associated tribes.

Climate change has been recognized as a growing influence on the mountain’s natural systems and has proved to be a challenge for maintaining park infrastructure. As glaciers melt, they deposit more and more rocky debris in river systems. As rivers fill up , they can change course and damage the historic roads that parallel the rivers. Carbon River Road to Ipsut Creek Campground washed out numerous times in the park’s history and was finally closed to vehicles after the November 2006 flood. As glacier’s retreat, exposing even more unstable rock higher on the mountain, debris flows are expected to become more frequent. Park scientists also monitor the mountain’s glaciers , rivers , meadows and forests , tracking how ecosystems may change in a changing climate.

Throughout its history, Mount Rainier has varied widely in its significance and benefit to its visitors. The idea of what the area can and should be, has changed dramatically and will continue to shift. These changes are particularly evident in the century since Mount Rainier became the nation’s fifth national park. The park is no longer home to a health spa and golf course, but the core values of enjoyment and preservation continue to drive its existence. As Mount Rainier pushes into the 21st century, park management faces a challenge balancing the competing meanings of the area with increased use. But if its history is any guide, the park will adapt to new challenges and continue to preserve the mountain as a place of wonder and amazement.

Archaeology is a science dedicated to improving our understanding of our collective human past through study of physical remains left behind. Artifacts are perhaps the best known unit of study. These include all portable objects (from stone tools to forks) that have been made, modified or used by human beings. Features are objects, such as cooking hearths, rock walls, or storage pits, that cannot be removed without destroying their basic integrity. Clustered concentrations of artifacts and features on the landscape typically are defined as archaeological sites. The patterned configuration of sites with their associated features and artifacts provides a valuable archaeological record of long-term human use of a place –a record no less important at Mount Rainier than at parks, such as Mesa Verde in Colorado or Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, better known for their spectacular archaeological remains.

Although artifacts and features may be studied and appreciated in isolation from one another, it is their context --their spatial and temporal relationship to one another, to geological features in the ground, and to other sites across the landscape-- that provides the most meaningful information about the past and gives the objects and sites their greatest scientific value. Archaeological remains at Mount Rainier represent a uniquely important record of long-term human activity in the park. So long as it remains intact, that record provides a means to develop a better understanding of ancient peoples’ ways of life, how the mountain fit into broader regional subsistence and settlement patterns, and how those patterns changed through time.

Charred bone and plant remains found in archeological sites, for example, provide information about animals and plants hunted and gathered long before they were documented in historical records. These remains can indicate the age of the site, and the seasons in which people visited that location. In addition, they can answer questions about past habitat conditions and animal species inhabiting park landscapes.

From their manufacture stone tools and the debris can tell us about the technology of native peoples and how they organized their hunting and gathering activities. Site distribution patterns inform us as to how they allocated use of space. Even more recent archaeological remains such as old cans, bottles, machinery and other abandoned objects can tell us about aspects of the lives of local people which were never written down in historical documents.

Mount Rainier National Park maintains active relations with six Indian tribes located in its vicinity: the Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin Island, Muckleshoot, Yakama, and Cowlitz. All but the Cowlitz trace their modern tribal identity to one or more of three treaties signed in 1854 and 1855. The Upper Cowlitz, or Taidnapam, did not sign a treaty with the United States, but like the treaty tribes, maintained traditional ties to landscapes that later became part of Mount Rainier National Park. Tribal people journeyed to the park in the summer and early fall to hunt and to gather berries, medicinal plants and other resources of use to them throughout the year. They continued to pursue these activities even after the park was created in 1899, and the mountain remains important to them to this day.

Because of the park’s growing archaeological record, we know that the ancestors of modern tribal people ranged widely over the mountain’s mid to upper elevation landscapes. We also know that, as early as 15,000 to 10,000 years ago, when Mount Rainier was largely draped in ice and permanent snowpack, people lived in the plains and valleys within its view. Sometime between about 9,000 and 8,500 years ago the mountain’s mid-slope settings became free of permanent snowpack and developed plant and animal communities similar to modern subalpine parklands. From limited archaeological testing, we have learned that, by 4,000 years ago, Indian people were hunting and gathering at places like Sunrise and other park mid to upper elevation landscapes. We do not yet know how early this use began, but it is reasonable to believe that it began as early as productive plant and animal populations became established on the mountain about 8,500 years ago.

It was once widely believed that Indian people seldom used Mount Rainier’s imposing mountain landscapes. That view began to change in 1963 with the discovery of the park’s first archaeological site –a rockshelter later found to be about 1,200 years old and containing charred goat, mountain beaver, deer, elderberry and wild hazelnut remains in association with pit features, fire cracked rock, broken projectile points, and profuse stone tool re-sharpening flakes and debris. Archaeological studies at Mount Rainier began in earnest in the late 1990s with completion of the park’s first systematic survey and archaeological overview, and development of a permanent position to oversee protection of the park’s prehistoric and more recent historical cultural resources. In addition, an archaeological field school conducted by Central Washington University (CWU) between 1997 and 2001 provided valuable insight into the use of the northeastern portion of the park.

Our present understanding of prehistoric Mount Rainier is based on systematic surveys and small to moderate size testing projects such as these. Site specific reconnaissance projects and geological studies also are made possible by construction and maintenance activities in the park. At present, approximately 3.5% of the park’s land area has been inventoried for archaeological remains. These inventories have documented over 75 prehistoric sites and isolated artifacts. These are predominantly lithic scatters, collections of debris from the manufacture and re-sharpening of chipped stone tools. Patterned variation in artifact content and setting suggest that different sites were used for long-term base camps, short-term hunting camps, kill sites, and butchering sites. Other sites include places where cedar bark was stripped from trees, places food was stored in talus slope pits, and places where tool stone was extracted.

Inventoried archaeological remains at Mount Rainier also include over 35 historic period sites and isolated artifacts. Most of these represent late 19th to early 20th century mining, recreation and early park development, and consist of old camp sites, trash, abandoned roadbeds, mine adits, and remnant structural remains.

For more background on the Ohanapecosh Campground project, check out archaeologist Greg Burtchard in a 2014 Ranger Brief video .

Mount Rainier National Park has been used by Native American people for thousands of years. In recent years, the park has implemented a program to better document the mountain's archaeological record, and to improve our understanding of long-term human use of its high-elevation landscapes.

A report entitled " Environment, Prehistory and Archaeology of Mount Rainier National Park " (1998, updated 2003) is a comprehensive archaeological overview and research design. Based on the results of field and archival research through 2002, it draws together the park’s known prehistoric archaeological record, and evaluates it in light of its place within broader regional subsistence and settlement patterns. This updated edition adds color graphics and several otherwise hard-to-get citations. Key arguments from the 2003 report were then extracted, updated and refined through more recent research. The report, " Holocene Subsistence and Settlement Patterns: Mount Rainier and the Montane Pacific Northwest " (2007), was published in the journal Archaeology in Washington.

The Paradise Camp Report documents the archaeological remains of the historic Paradise Camp building. The Paradise Camp archaeological exploration occurred in 2006, when Mount Rainier National Park began construction of the new Jackson Visitor Center on the site of the former Paradise Camp Lodge. The construction site was selected, in part, to restore a bit of Paradise historic character lost when various historical buildings were demolished in the mid-1900s. Construction of the new visitor center not only promised to restore much of the original landscape design to the area, but created an opportunity, and obligation, to investigate archaeological remains of Paradise Camp still preserved under the 1950s pavement.

The 2006 flood at Mount Rainier dramatically altered the terrain of the park. Archaeology and History in the Nisqually Corridor: Results of the 2006-2007 Flood Damage Survey (2008) focuses on three areas where damage was most severe, and where reoccurring flood damage remains most likely: Sunshine Point, lower Kautz Creek, and Longmire Historic District. Additional reports are posted on the Resouces webpage .

Benjamin Diaz , Park Archaeologist Mount Rainier National Park 55210 238th Avenue East Ashford, WA 98304

Preservation of both artifacts and their context is critical because the archeological record is a finite, fragile and non-renewable resource. Archaeologists are ever mindful of the fact that collection of objects through excavation or surface collection is a destructive activity. Once you remove an object from its original context, you can't recreate its relationship to other objects and it loses most of its scientific value.

The archeological record is somewhat like having only a single copy of a history book covering large expanses of time. Damaging or removing parts of an archeological site is like tearing a page out of that book and destroying it. Once destroyed, all the information on that page is lost and a significant part of the human story of Mount Rainier is gone forever.

Because archeological resources are so fragile and unique, a number of federal laws have been passed to protect them.

You can play a significant role in the protection of archeological resources on public land by sharing your observations with park staff.

Mount Rainier National Park maintains an active program of inventory, monitoring and management of archeological resources. Contact the park at the address below if you are interested in learning of future opportunities to participate in these activities as a volunteer.

The park encourages academic research which contributes to the understanding and proper management of the archeological resources in its care. To discuss proposals or ideas for such research projects or partnerships, please contact the Archaeologist-Cultural Resource Specialist .

Beginning in the late 1920s, the master plan for Mount Rainier was the first and most complete national park master plan to be developed and implemented in the National Park Service. The park was treated as a synthetic whole – not a group of fragmented locations – and this consistent design can still be seen in the buildings, roads, bridges, trails, and developed areas. No other park has preserved as much of an intact example of park planning from this period as Mount Rainier National Park which is why it was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1997. The Mount Rainier Historic Landmark District encompasses all of the park roads, historic developed areas, and historic backcountry structures and makes up 3% of the park’s area. While some portions of the district are discontiguous, or disconnected from other areas, the main historic corridor is tied together by a system of park roads that connects all major developed areas of the park and includes the Wonderland Trail (a 93-mile loop trail system around the mountain) and two spur entrance roads in the northwest corner of the park (Carbon River and Mowich Lake roads). The discontiguous part of the district are 13 backcountry cabins and shelters, four fire lookouts, and Camp Muir, a climbing basecamp located high on the mountain. These backcountry historic areas and trails are also part of the park's designated wilderness , which includes approximately 97% of the park. Most of the buildings in the historic district and some of the structures were previously listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Some buildings are also independently designated National Historic Landmarks for their architectural significance. Within the historic district there are historic buildings, structures, and objects:

Each of the buildings, structures, or objects is also defined as contributing or non-contributing . Contributing means it adds to the historic associations or qualities of the area, while non-contributing means it does not. A building, structure, or object can be non-contributing because it was not present during the period of significance, or has been altered, disturbed, or changed enough to no longer possess historical integrity, or does not independently meet the National Register criteria. In addition to the overarching Mount Rainier National Park historic district, many of the developed areas in the park are independently recognized as historic districts as described in the sections below. A historic district possesses a significant concentration or continuity of sites, buildings, structures, or objects united historically or aesthetically by plan or physical development. At Mount Rainier, in addition to being part of a cohesive master plan, historic districts follow the aesthetic of National Park Service (NPS) Rustic style architecture . Designers selected massive logs and glacial boulders as the building materials best suited for integrating new structures with their natural settings. Entrance stations, administration buildings, employee residences, and even comfort stations were all built to blend with their natural surroundings. Roads curve with the landscape, highlighting views while bridges frame waterfalls. For many people, this impressive architectural style contributes to the special sense-of-place quality which makes national parks a distinctive part of the American landscape. Each of the park’s historic districts has its own period of significance when the majority of the area was developed or constructed. The Mount Rainier National Park Historic Landmark District’s overall period of significance is from 1904 to 1957.

Every summer thousands of hikers and backpackers travel to Mount Rainier National Park to make a trip along the Wonderland Trail, seeking the same scenic splendors and thrilling adventures that Superintendent Roger Toll described above. The 93 mile footpath encircling the mountain is one of the oldest and most popular recreational attractions within the park. All variety of individuals and groups have taken Wonderland Trail outings, and a number of different organizations- the National Park Service, The Mountaineers Clubs of Tacoma and Seattle, the Boy Scouts- have had a hand in building and improving the original circuit. 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the trail's construction and also celebrates the first around-the mountain trip. Although a few rough trails wound along the slopes of the mountain before Congress established Mount Rainier National Park in 1899, the new park needed a more dependable travel network to patrol and protect the park's resources. Rangers began the task of constructing the official trail system in 1907, and extended it farther each year. In the spring and summer of 1915, trail crews worked overtime to finally complete the trail in early August of that year. Stephen Mather, then Assistant Secretary of the Interior, pushed to get the new trail finished by August for The Mountaineers Club's annual summer outing.

That original route was much longer (130-140 miles) and less scenic than today's path. The trail ran close to the park's boundary, at a lower elevation than the one hikers travel today. That kept the path free of snow much longer each year, making it easier for Rainier's patrol rangers to cover the park on foot or horseback to search for fires and to prevent poaching, trespassing, and vandalism.

To make ranger patrols more effective, the park constructed a series of patrol cabins along the trail, simple log structures where staff could "spend a night or a season without the usual annoyances experienced in abandoned mining cabins". Built with native logs and cedar-shake roofs, the park supplied them with small cook stoves, dining tables, and sleeping accommodations. The remote cabins served as summer residences, emergency overnight shelters for winter patrols, storehouses for fire-fighting equipment, and temporary shelter for hikers. Prior to the construction of Mount Rainier's fire lookouts in 1932-34, the Wonderland Trail and the patrol cabins were the key pieces of the park's fire patrol system.

Mount Rainier's rangers were among the few who traveled the distant reaches of the Wonderland Trail in wintertime. The cabins were supplied with firewood and food rations, "as it might be necessary to stop for several days at one place if caught in an extremely vicious blizzard". Upon reaching one of the remote cabins, they shoveled down through deep snowdrifts to reach the doorway, and cleared snow from the chimney before starting a much-welcome fire in the stove. Sometimes they encountered the ruins left by a black bear who had raided their winter larder.

In August 1915, the Mountaineers Club of Seattle made the first trek around the mountain on the Wonderland Trail. They started with a train trip to Ashford, where they disembarked, loaded up their supplies, and began walking to the park's Nisqually Entrance. Each day thereafter they followed the Wonderland route, with some club members marching along with military precision and discipline, while others traveled at their own pace, pausing at times to take photographs or enjoy a tranquil resting place.

Ahead of the main party, designated "scouts" marked campsites for each night by nailing a triangular aluminum plate (inscribed with the club name) to a conspicuous-looking tree. They chose sites in the wildflower-strewn subalpine parks, which ring the mountain near the 5,000 foot level and offer superb views of the summit. When the hikers reached camp at the end of their day, the kitchen detail built a large bonfire and set up the commissary to serve meals. When the kitchen chief blew the whistle to announce dinner was ready, there was a "grand rush of the hungry hordes to get into line".

The trip afforded the participants three weeks of adventure, physical fitness, and reveling in the mountain landscape. As with today's backpackers, they witnessed the changing face of Mount Rainier, which presented dramatically different profiles as they circled the peak. Sometimes the mountain looked "so near and looked so inviting in its beautiful white mantel, one felt tempted to run up to the summit before breakfast just to work up an appetite". The club then repeated the trip for their 1919, 1924, and 1930 summer outings. The news and publicity generated by those excursions, and the lobbying by club members to make the route a more scenic one, would help establish the recreational potential of the new trail.

At first, mountaineering groups and patrol rangers were virtually the only travelers on the Wonderland, in part because parts of the route was not suitable for tourist travel. In the 1920s, the park began trail improvements, including shortening the length, to make it more attractive for recreation and to everyday visitors. In fact, the name "Wonderland" was first attached to the trail in 1920 because the superintendent and the park concessionaire had begun promoting it as a tourist destination. The Rainier National Park Company issued a 1920 publicity bulletin that advertised the "new Wonderland Trail" as one of the highlights of any trip to Mount Rainier. The company also offered a guided saddle and pack horse trip along the trail, which it called the "most glorious trip in the world".

Along with The Mountaineers, the Boy Scouts of America was the other organization closely associated with the early recreational use of the Wonderland Trail. The idea that a wilderness sojourn could recreate the simpler American past of the pioneers became, for organizations like the Boy Scouts, a prime motivation in undertaking a Wonderland pilgrimage. Puget Sound area Scout troops began taking Wonderland trips in the early 1920s, usually spending two weeks in the park traveling a part of or all of the trail. The hundred-mile circuit around the majestic Rainier was the ideal place for local Scouts to obtain their hiking and camping skills, and to live out their Scouting ethos.

Since the Scouts were also a service-oriented organization, their hiking trips often included trail improvement projects, including building some new sections of trail. In August 1925, the Tacoma News Tribune reported that a group of Eagle Scouts from Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and Bellingham constructed a one-mile section of trail from Longmire up to Rampart Ridge. Thereafter, visiting Scout troops regularly engaged in small-scale improvement projects to go with their Wonderland trips.

The challenges and service contributions of Boy Scout- and later Girl Scout- outings helped build character, self-reliance, and appreciation for the outdoors. The same can be said for many of the individuals, families, and groups that have walked the Wonderland over the past century and continue to do so today. Like the many dedicated hikers who have completed the entire circuit, the Wonderland Trail has come full circle. The rugged path that the park created to protect the park's natural resources is now a significant resource itself, worthy of historical recognition and long-term protection.

A number of contributing buildings in the park are not within any of the developed areas, including thirteen patrol cabins and trail shelters and four fire lookouts. Portions of Mount Rainier National Park’s master plan specifically addressed fire control and a need for a backcountry patrol system which necessitated some buildings to be scattered throughout the park instead of being along the main corridors. To accurately represent the master plan, which is the main justification for the national historic designation, these buildings and structures are included in the Mount Rainier National Park Historic Landmark District. Some of the cabins and shelters were also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Patrol cabins are usually small log cabins with pitched roofs and sleeping lofts. Some cabins like the early Indian Henry’s Patrol Cabin (1916) were built of native wood and stone for expediency, but later ones reflect the design principles of the NPS Rustic style. During the early years of the park, patrol cabins were used as fire-fighting control centers, residences, emergency shelters, storehouses, equipment depots, and food caches by rangers performing these and other duties. While not used as extensively today, the patrol cabins still house rangers out performing backcountry work. While trail shelters came in several varieties, most are built from logs or with stone with one open side (Adirondack-type shelter). Two shelters, Summerland (1934) and Indian Bar (1940) were built out of stone by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The supervisory landscape architect overseeing the construction of the Summerland Shelter remarked “the workmen were inexperienced in stonework and the shelter was not too good in appearance, but it was in harmony with its location”. The enclosed square fire lookouts at Mount Rainier are typical for such structures built across the park service throughout the 1930s. In addition to the four remaining fire lookouts, four other fire lookouts that no longer exist were once located in the park. Anvil Rock Lookout was built in 1917 out of stone and operated by the US Forest Service in a cooperative agreement with the NPS. It was located at 9,585 feet near Camp Muir, but views were often blocked by cloud cover. It was replaced by a wooden structure in 1928 and fully removed in 1948. The Colonnades Lookout at 7,100 feet on the west side of the park was built in 1930 and replaced by Sunset Park Lookout in 1948 at a lower elevation. Sunset Park Lookout along with Crystal Peak Lookout on the northeast side of the park were removed in the 1960/70s after aerial surveillance replaced the need for fire lookouts in the 1950s. The four remaining fire lookouts still serve as backcountry ranger stations and occasional emergency fire detection viewpoints.

The Nisqually Entrance Area, in the southwest corner of the park, was originally listed as a National Historic Landmark District in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Three of the buildings in the developed area pre-date the park service; four were added by park service planners, and there is one non-contributing structure. The area embodies the complimentary styles of rustic architecture and naturalistic landscape architecture and is also significant for its association with early National Park Service (NPS) master planning. The Nisqually Entrance has been the main entrance to the park at least since the Nisqually Road, originally called the “Government Road”, was first surveyed in 1903 and went as far as Longmire. Significant site development took place during the initial period of federal management of the park before the formation of the National Park Service in 1916. Until 1917, the entrance also served as park headquarters and first ranger station. Nisqually Entrance is the longest operating entrance station in the National Park Service and remains the busiest entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The park was also the first in the NPS to allow visitor-driven vehicles, and the first to collect fees in 1907.

During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) rehabilitated the entrance station, built paths between the buildings, installed culverts and other drainage features, stabilized slopes, and planted vegetation around the buildings. National Register of Historic Places: Nisqually Entrance Historic District

The Paradise Area was originally listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 1991. Although the history of the area as a resort goes back to the 19 th century, all the buildings in the Paradise Area date to after 1916, when the concessionaire Rainier National Park Company (RNPC) became instrumental to the development of the area. The period of significance for the Paradise Area starts in 1916 when the construction of the Paradise Inn began and extends to 1942. The activities at Paradise during this period reflect major development in the design and management of national parks, from the relatively disorganized approach of the concessioner in contrast to the more structured planning of the National Park Service. The Paradise Inn is separately designated as a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance. Located at 5,400 feet, the subalpine meadows surrounding the buildings at Paradise are included within the historic district because they have been an inextricable part of the patterns of human activity in the area over the last 100 years. They have been used for a wide variety of recreation since the late 19 th century, including tent camps, ski slopes, stables, campgrounds, and even a golf course. The trails through the meadows remain the most heavily used trails in the park. The trail network of the Skyline Trail, including Golden Gate, Alta Vista, and Glacier Vista trails, is counted as one contributing structure. The parking lots at Paradise are also a contributing structure. In combination with the buildings, these features still convey the character of the area as it appeared and functioned during the period of significance. However, the Jackson Visitor Center, picnic area, and associated roads have been heavily reoriented from the area’s original layout and are not contributing structures. National Register of Historic Places: Paradise Historic District

The Longmire Area, also known as the Longmire Village, was originally listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 1991. Longmire has several areas zoned for different uses, including the main public area (known as the Longmire Plaza), the utility area, the residential area, the campground, and the Longmire Meadow. The Longmire Area has excellent integrity with 58 buildings, almost 75%, contributing to the historic district. There are 16 non-contributing buildings. The buildings that are non-contributing either do not date to the period of significance from 1888-1942 or have been significantly altered in a way that has profoundly changed their physical appearance and character. Three buildings in this developed area are already designated National Historic Landmarks for their architectural significance: the Longmire Administration Building , the Service Station , and the Community Building . Together, the buildings of the Longmire Area are one of the most extensive collections of Park Service Rustic architectural style that exists. Besides the outstanding examples, such as the Administration Building, and the contributing buildings listed below, there is a full complement of residential bungalows, cottages, cabins, and other buildings that are excellent examples of Park Service architecture of the period. Much of the housing was also constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1937-1941. National Register of Historic Places: Longmire Historic District

The Camp Muir Area is located just below the Cowlitz Cleaver at 10,188 feet along the most traveled and direct route to the summit of Mount Rainier. Originally known as Cloud Camp, in 1916, The Mountaineers arranged to have the first shelter at Camp Muir erected, honoring the founder of the Sierra Club who had died two years earlier. The area’s period of significance is from 1916-1936. In addition to being part of the park’s early master planning, the area is significant for its association with early recreational development of the park and its distinctive stone masonry structures in the Rustic style of architecture. The stone Guide Shelter at Camp Muir was designed by a member of The Mountaineers, Carl F. Gould. Today it serves as a ranger station. The park service added a second shelter, called the Public Shelter, to the site and two pit toilets, only one of which remains. The stone was harvested from nearby slopes, creating a camouflage effect, and the flat roofs kept the building profiles low. Structures in the Camp Muir developed area were originally listed in the National Register in 1991. National Register of Historic Places: Camp Muir

The Sunrise Area, also known as Yakima Park, was originally listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 1991. Its period of significance is from 1929-1944, when the Sunrise Area was developed as part of a carefully planned effort to bring tourism to the east side of the park. The design of the Sunrise area departs from the precedents of the Longmire Area , instead being inspired by early territorial outposts of the Pacific Northwest. Two “blockhouses”, a visitor center, and a stockade fence that hides the area’s utility yard are collectively known as the Yakima Park Stockade Group . The Stockade Group is separately designated as a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance. When Mount Rainier National Park was designated, the historic Sunrise Area designation was expanded to include the plaza (parking lot), picnic area, the spur road to powerhouse and powerhouse itself, and an overlook structure. The Rainier National Park Company concessionaire had a very ambitious development scheme for the area as well, but the stock market crash of 1929 affected the company’s economic resources and their plan had to be scaled back. Only one wing of the proposed concessioner’s lodge for Yakima Park, the Sunrise Day Lodge , was completed. It served as a cafeteria and support building for over 200 tourist cabins that stood in straight rows on the flat area immediately behind the lodge. The cabins were sold and removed during World War II. All the remaining buildings in the Sunrise Area are contributing structures and the Sunrise Area retains the highest degree of historic integrity of all the developed areas in the park. National Register of Historic Places: Sunrise Historic District

The Christine Falls Area is located approximately three miles northeast of Longmire and is a component of the Nisqually-Paradise Road. The area was recognized as an outstanding work of naturalistic landscape architecture and includes the stone-faced Christine Falls Bridge (listed on the Historic Roads & Other Structures page), two parking areas on the side of the road, a paved trail, and an overlook associated with the bridge. The period of significance is from 1927, when the bridge was designed, to 1941. The view of Christine Falls determined the layout of the area. The falls are at a point where Van Trump Creek flows through a narrow canyon. In 1907 a wooden bridge was built over the creek further down from the falls. It was replaced in 1915 by a bridge in the present location, required the road to be relocated. In 1928, the present reinforced concrete span faced with native stone masonry was completed. The Christine Falls Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The Narada Falls Area is a component of the historic Nisqually-Paradise Road. Only 150 feet from the road, Narada Falls is the largest waterfall accessible by car in the park. The name for Narada Falls was established in 1893 by the Narada Branch of the Theosophical Society of Western Washington during an excursion at Mount Rainier. As at Christine Falls , Narada Falls offered a scenic and convenient crossing, in this case of the Paradise River. A bridge built in 1908 at the site was replaced by the present bridge in 1928, also constructed of reinforced concrete faced with native stone masonry. The Narada Falls Area, developed from 1926-1941, includes the roadside overlook and retaining wall, the trail to the comfort station, the bridge over the Nisqually River, the comfort station, and the paved trail and lower overlook. The Narada Falls Bridge and Narada Falls Comfort Station were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. From the 1930s to 1950s, Narada Falls Area was a popular winter-activity area. During this period, visitors had to use a one-way Narada Falls Cut-off Road, which was hazardous in winter, to get to Paradise so many stopped at Narada Falls to recreate. After a new, wider road to Paradise was built in 1958, Paradise became the primary winter-use area for the park.

Early trails around Mount Rainier included native paths, game trails, mining roads, and the first wagon roads and tourist paths, such as those blazed by James Longmire in the 1880s or Bailey Willis in the Carbon River/Spray Park Area. The first government-built trails initially sought to improve existing trails, such as the route to Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground which was worked on by rangers in 1906. In 1907, U.S. Army Engineers Hiram Chittenden and Eugene Ricksecker suggested a continuous trail around the mountain to aid in policing the park, with a secondary benefit of tourist access. During the early 1910s, fire was a major concern and a driving force for trail construction. With better trails, rangers could more quickly respond if a wildfire broke out in the remote forests of the park. By 1915, a rough around-the-mountain trail system was completed, forming the Wonderland Trail . This early version of the Wonderland Trail was at lower elevations than the one that exists today. The Mountaineers led the first group around the Wonderland Trail in 1915 and also played a role in scouting out and building sections of the trail. Park service landscape architects subsequently incorporated the trail into the master plan for the park in the 1920s. The first use of the name “Wonderland” was in 1920 when Superintendent Roger Toll recommended trail signage and the park concessionaire Rainier National Park Company (RNPC) started to promote the trail, advertising 12-day-long saddle and pack horse tours of the mountain. The RNPC route at higher elevations was more similar to today’s routing of the Wonderland Trail than the 1915 version. Superintendent Toll also advocated for a series of shelter and patrol cabins along the trail, that was realized during the 1920s-30s under Superintendent Tomlinson (1923-1941). Although it has been relocated in places and maintained and rebuilt when required, the Wonderland Trail as a whole has extensive integrity and is one of the most significant and historic trails in the national park system. The Wonderland Trail corridor, with its associated historic elements, is counted as one structure. Its period of significance is from 1907-1942, when the trail was planned and established. Many of the other trails in the park, like the Eastside, Spray Park, and Northern Loop trails, follow previous versions of the Wonderland Trail.

There are 117 miles of historic roads in Mount Rainier National Park. The main automotive roads in the park are the Nisqually-Paradise Road, Westside Road, Stevens Canyon Road, Eastside Highway (SR123), Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410), Sunrise Road (Yakima Park Highway), Mowich Lake Road, and Carbon River Road (now closed to vehicles). Each of these roads is counted as a contributing structure to the park’s overall historic district. The first road to be built in the park was the Nisqually to Paradise Road , constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers between 1906-1916, but most of the major road construction work occurred in the 1920s-1930s. NPS landscape designers collaborated with engineers from the US Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) to ensure that upgrades to existing roads were constructed as sensitively as possible and that new roads and facilities “harmonize” with their local environment. Routes followed the contours of the landscape to minimize road cuts and maximize views. Rustic-style construction included hand-laid masonry guard walls built from local granite while concrete bridges and tunnel portals were veneered in stone masonry. Scenic pullouts or overlooks were especially significant aspects of the park road system and included in the historic district. These areas served as parking areas, viewing terraces, and trailheads. In addition to maintaining these features, the current roads still follow their original alignment in most cases and have good historic integrity. The successful master plan of Mount Rainier’s roads became a blueprint for other parks of that era. As with the trail system, an “around-the-mountain" system of roads was envisioned for Mount Rainier National Park during the 1910s to early 1920s and partially achieved during the following decades. On the east side of the park, Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410) and the Eastside Highway (SR123) completed an eastern traverse of the park from north to south. The Eastside Highway follows in part a 1916 trail that connected the town of Packwood to the Ohanapecosh Hot Springs concession, which was outside of the park at that time. During the 1920s, Washington State constructed a road from the south to the park’s southeast entrance as well as a road on the north side to connect to the town of Naches on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range. In 1931, the park boundary expanded to include the Ohanapecosh area and the Naches Pass Highway, which was completed and renamed the Mather Memorial Parkway in 1932. The Eastside Highway was not completed until 1940, the roads meeting at Cayuse Pass and becoming the first through-road in the park.

Stevens Canyon Road succeeded in connecting in the east and west sides of the park on the south side of the mountain. Construction began in 1931 and continued during the 1930s until 1941, when World War II suspended operations on building bridges due to lack of steel. Work on the road resumed in 1952, with Stevens Canyon Road officially opening in 1957. The later portions of the road between Stevens Creek and the Cowlitz Divide, along with two bridges and a tunnel completed in the 1950s, follow the original plans and are part of the historic district. Meanwhile there were plans to complete roads on the north and west sides of the park. Westside Road would connect the Nisqually Entrance in the southwest to Mowich Lake Road in the northwest. Carbon River Road was intended to carve a path along the northern border of the park, with plans to connect to highways on the east side. However, budget constraints and the rugged topography of the mountain prevented completion of these roads. The “around-the-mountain" plan was abandoned in favor of a partial loop system that relied more heavily on roads outside of the park. Westside Road, Carbon River Road, and Mowich Lake Road were left as spur roads. These roads are still considered part of the historic district due to their association with the park’s early master planning. Likewise, the Yakima Park Highway, now known as the White River and Sunrise Roads , was intended to connect the northeast side of the park, while also providing vehicular access to a subalpine area like Paradise. The route up to Yakima Park was surveyed in 1927, following naturalistic design principles, and construction was completed in 1931. The road curves around the contours of the land, passes close to significant features, and frames dramatic views, making it to this day one of the most stunning and popular drives in Mount Rainier National Park.

The park is home to a number of bird species. Some of these birds are year-round residents but most occur in the park during specific seasons. The distribution of birds in the park varies between the life zones of the park, which is highly dependent on the elevation. The lowest areas of the park (below 3,500 feet/1,066 meters) are characterized by mature forests of Douglas-fir, western red cedar, grand fir, and western hemlock. This forested zone provides suitable habitat for northern spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ) and marbled murrelet ( Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus ). Many other birds occur in this zone which are seasonal visitors or year-around residents.

The next zone of the park is from 3,500 to 5,000 feet (1,066-1,524 meters) and has mixed forests of western white pine, western hemlock, and Pacific silver fir. Weather, food sources, migration, and breeding season affects the timing and species of birds found in this zone.

The subalpine elevation zone extends from 5,000 to 6,500 feet (1,524-1,981 meters) and is where Paradise and Sunrise are located. This zone transitions away from forested terrain into subalpine meadows. Clumps of mixed forest remain among the meadows, made up of primarily subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, Alaska yellow cedar, and white bark pine. There are many birds found here, especially in the summer when the meadows are lush with wildflowers, seeds, and insects.

Over 80 square miles of Mount Rainier National Park has an elevation above 6,500 feet (1,981 meters). This final alpine zone is characterized by snowfields, glaciers, and bare rock outcrops. However, many specialized plant communities survive in these exposed areas. Wind also disperses insects and spiders onto snowfields and glaciers, providing food for numerous birds which visit the snowfield.

A list of common species can also be found in the Mount Rainier Bird Checklist . Photos from the Bird Guide are available in the Birds of Mount Rainier Photo Album .

Water birds include dippers, kingfishers, geese, and duck species found in Mount Rainier National Park.

The northern spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis caurina ) is listed on the US Fish & Wildlife Service list of threatened and endangered species , and is the only endangered bird species that permanently inhabits the park. Marbled murrelets ( Brachyramphus marmoratus marmoratus ) have been observed inside and outside the park and nest in the park. Bald eagle s ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) and peregrine falcons ( Falco peregrinus ) are also listed species, but while they have been sighted in the park, there is no record of either species nesting in the park. They are believed to pass through the park on a migratory basis.

There several bird species found in the park which are listed as sensitive , including the northern goshaw k ( Accipiter gentilis ), harlequin duck ( Histrionicus histrionicus ), and willow flycatcher ( Emphidonax traillii brewsteri ).

Though the park is world-renowned for its elaborate wildflower displays, the vegetation of Mount Rainier National Park is remarkably diverse. Climate and elevation vary greatly in the park, creating a wide range of habitats supporting an extensive number of plant species. There are over 890 vascular species and more than 260 non-vascular plant species and fungi in the park. There are more than 100 exotic plant species , especially along transportation corridors, near trails, and in riparian areas. Major plant community zones in the park include:

Disturbance also plays a large role in the diversity and distrubution of plant communities.

Approximately 58 percent of the park is covered by forest. Low elevation forests are distributed from the park's boundary from 1,700 feet to 2,700 feet (approx. 500-800 meters) elevation and are dominated by western hemlock, Douglas-fir, and western red cedar. Mid-elevation forests extend from 2,700 feet upward to 4,000 to 6,000 feet (approx. 1200-1800 meters) elevation depending on aspect, and contain Pacific silver fir, Alaska yellow cedar, western white pine, and noble fir. Above about 4,500 feet (approx. 1400 meters), high elevation forests are characterized by subalpine fir, mountain hemlock, and Alaskan yellow cedar. Whitebark pine and Englemann spruce are present in drier sites on the east side of the park. Forest ages range from young stands (less than 100 years old) to old-growth stands 1,000 or more years old. The young stands can be found in areas of disturbance, such as areas cleared by fire or debris flows, or reclaiming moraines and other exposed land left behind by receding glaciers.

At the upper elevations of high elevation forests, trees become less dense as the forest transitions into subalpine parkland. The subalpine parkland covers approximately 23 percent of the park; vegetation in this zone is a mosaic of tree clumps and herbaceous meadows extending from forest line to tree line, or about 5,000 feet to about 7,000 feet (approx. 1500-2100 meters) elevation. Tree cover and the location of plant communities in this zone is limited by the depth and duration of the snow pack.

Lush meadows, part of the subalpine parkland, ring Mount Rainier at elevations from 5,000 feet to about 7,000 feet (approx. 1500-2100 meters). The meadows are a favorite spectacle for park visitors, who flock to the mountain to see the elaborate wildflower displays blooming in the meadows. The subalpine meadows can be cloaked in snow well into the month of June if not later, driving the wildflowers to bloom aggressively in order to take advantage of the short growing season. The short season also affects the type of plant communities found in the meadows. Subalpine meadow vegetation is categorized as five broad vegetation types (Henderson 1974):

1. Heather/Bell-heather/Huckleberry Communities (Phyllodoce/Cassiope/Vaccinium) : areas of dense, low shrub dominated by heather and huckleberry on the south and west sides of the park, such as Paradise and Indian Henrys Hunting Ground. Huckleberry is the same species as blueberry, and produces those familiar, edible berries in the fall.

2. Sitka Valerian/Showy Sedge Communities ( Valeriana sitchensis/Carex spectabilis ): tall, dense stands of perennial wildflowers found all around the mountain, particularly in areas where avalanche disturbance prevents the growth of shrubs. In addition to Sitka valerian, numerous wildflower species fall under this vegetation type including lupine, American bistort, pasqueflower, paintbrush, mountain daisy, gray's lovage, glacier lily, and avalanche lily.

4. Low Herbaceous Communities : dominated by mosses, in areas of disturbance or unstable soil. Vegetation grows in clumps, possibly with patches of bare ground visible. Species found in this vegetation community include saxifrage, black sedge, hawkweed, partridgefoot, alpine buckwheat, and pussytoes.

Pacific fisher are being restored to their native habitat the south Cascades and Olympic Peninsula. Learn more about these efforts.

An elevation difference of approximately 13,000 feet creates a variety of habitats and life zones in Mount Rainier that remain protected. You'll likely see different animals at each life zone change. This diversity provides for a broad assortment of invertebrates, mammals , birds , fish , amphibians , and reptiles . There are also many species of slime mold , which exhibit characteristics of both animals and fungi! Efforts are underway to restore native Pacific fisher to the forests of the south Cascades and Olympic Peninsula. There is also ongoing research to monitor the northern spotted owl population in the park. At Mount Rainier you can find 65 mammal species, 14 species of amphibians, 5 species of reptiles, 182 species of birds, and 14 species of native fish. Invertebrates probably represent 85% of the animal biomass in the park.

See an animal in the park? Let us know! Use the link to fill out a wildlife observation form. Species of particular interest include any owls, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, northern goshawk, white-tailed ptarmigan, harlequin duck (especially female with chicks), Cascade red fox (especially kits), fisher, cougar, bear, wolverine, coyotes, wolves, western toad, and western bumblebee. Thank you!

Prior to visiting the park, you can download species lists for the park from NPSpecies. You can also report observations of any living thing at park, at home, or when you travel using iNaturalist and eBird . Verified reports in parks from these sources are also added to NPSpecies.

The protection, study and management of the park's natural resources and processes is essential for achieving the park's purpose and mission goals. The park includes outstanding geologic and hydrologic resources that represent key physical elements in the park ecosystem, including glaciers and snowfields, geomorphic features such as watersheds and landforms, soils, and paleoecologic deposits. Glaciers, snowfields, watersheds, and soils are especially sensitive to air pollution and climatic change.

Glaciers carve through the landscape of Mount Rainier, fuel the park rivers, and are a measuring stick for climate conditions.

Mount Rainier is a active volcano. Lava flows and eruptions have shaped the landscape in the past, and evidence can still be seen today.

Seismicity is the study of earthquakes. Earthquakes are monitored on Mount Rainier as one way to track volcanic activity.

Aggradation, the process of rivers filling with rocky debris, can play a big role in flooding and other river behavior.

The road from White River to Sunrise is a journey through the geologic history of Mount Rainier. Discover geology through this audio tour.

On the trail in Grand Park Permits are not required for day hiking. However, camping overnight in the wilderness at Mount Rainier requires a permit . Permits may be reserved in advance by visiting Recreation.gov , or be obtained in person at park Wilderness Information Centers. Visit the Wilderness Permits page for more information. In the winter, permits are still required and available through self-registration outside of Wilderness Information Centers, or at the SR410 entrance arch at the park's north boundary once the road closes for the season. Check the Wilderness Permit page for details. Learn more about winter recreation , including winter camping . Winter camping ends by May 15 each spring.

In the winter, permits are still required and available through self-registration outside of Wilderness Information Centers, or at the SR410 entrance arch at the park's north boundary once the road closes for the season. Check the Wilderness Permit page for details. Learn more about winter recreation , including winter camping . Winter camping ends by May 15 each spring. Hiking for Beginners New to hiking or interested in hiking with kids ? Check out Hiking 101 to get started! Mount Rainier National Park has trails ranging from easy to extremely challenging. Learn more about day hiking , including options for shorter trails, or explore other trails of Mount Rainier .