Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state.[3] The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preserving 236,381 acres (369.3 sq mi; 956.6 km2)[1] including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot (4,390 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490–4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpinemeadows, and 91,000 acres (142.2 sq mi; 368.3 km2) of old-growth forest.[4] More than 25 glaciers descend the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow.
Mount Rainier is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is covered by glaciers and snowfields totaling about 35 square miles (91 km2). Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountaineering with some 10,000 attempts per year with approximately 50% making it to the summit.
The purpose of Mount Rainier National Park is to protect and preserve unimpaired the majestic icon of Mount Rainier, a glaciated volcano, along with its natural and cultural resources, values, and dynamic processes. The park provides opportunities for people to experience, understand, and care for the park environment, and also provides for wilderness experiences and sustains wilderness values.
The name of the mountain itself in Lushootseed is "Tacoma", (pronounced "Taquoma") same as a nearby city in the Seattle metro area.
The earliest evidence of human activity in the area which is now Mount Rainier National Park, is a projectile point dated to circa 4,000–5,800 BP (before present) found along Bench Lake Trail (the first section of Snow Lake Trail).[7][8]
A more substantial archeological find was a rock shelter near Fryingpan Creek, east of Goat Island Mountain. Hunting artifacts were found in the shelter. The shelter would not have been used all year round. Cultural affinities suggest the site was used by Columbia Plateau Tribes from 1000 to 300 BP.[7][8]
In 1963 the National Park Service contracted Washington State University to study Native American use of the Mount Rainier area. Richard D. Daugherty lead an archeological study of the area and concluded that prehistoric humans used the area most heavily between 8000 and 4500 BP. Allan H. Smith interviewed elderly Native Americans and studied ethnographic literature. He found no evidence of permanent habitation in the park area. The park was used for hunting and gathering and for occasional spirit quests. Smith also came to tentative conclusions that the park was divided among five tribes along watershed boundaries; the Nisqually, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Yakama, and Taidnapam (Upper Cowlitz). Subsequent studies cast doubt on Smith's theory that the tribes had agreed upon boundaries before they entered into treaties with the United States in 1854–55.[7]
Park creation
The Mount Rainier Forest Preserve should be made a national park and guarded while yet its bloom is on; for if in the making of the West Nature had what we call parks in mind—places for rest, inspiration, and prayers—this Rainier region must surely be one of them.
The trip to Mount Rainier had played a role in reinvigorating Muir and convincing him to rededicate his life to the preservation of nature as national parks. At the time national forests, called forest reserves at first, were being created throughout the American West, under the utilitarian "conservation-through-use" view of Gifford Pinchot. Muir came to be known as a "preservationist". He wanted nature preserved under the more protected status of national parks. But during the 1890s there was more public support for creating national forests than national parks. During that decade, Muir and his supporters were only able to protect one national forest[which?] as a national park. When the Pacific Forest Reserve was created in 1893, Muir quickly persuaded the newly formed Sierra Club to support a movement to protect Rainier as a national park. Other groups soon joined, such as the National Geographic Society and scientific associations wanting Mount Rainier preserved as a place to study volcanism and glaciology. Commercial leaders in Tacoma and Seattle were also in support, as was the Northern Pacific Railway. The effort lasted over five years and involved six different attempts to push a bill through Congress. Congress eventually agreed, but only after acquiring assurances that none of the new park was suitable for farming or mining and that no federal appropriations would be necessary for its management.[9]
2006 flooding
Mount Rainier National Park closed because of extensive flooding as a result of the November 6, 2006 Pineapple Express rainstorm when 18 inches (460 mm) of rain fell in a 36-hour period. Campsites and roads throughout the park were washed away. Power to Paradise and Longmire was disrupted. Sunshine Point Campground, just inside the Nisqually Entrance, was destroyed and has not reopened.[13][14] Parts of the Carbon River Road, once a vehicle-accessible entrance to the park, also washed out. The road has since remained closed to vehicle traffic.[14] On May 5, 2007, the park reopened to automobile traffic via State Route 706 at the Nisqually Entrance.[15]
Closures and reservations
In November 2022, the National Park Service announced that access to the south side of the park beyond Longmire would be closed on weekdays due to inadequate staffing. Several recreation areas, including a sledding hill, were also closed for the rest of the winter season.[16] The closure was unpopular with recreation groups and was modified in 2023 to allow winter access to Paradise from Thursdays through Mondays.[17]
Beginning 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. The system was implemented due to increased crowding at the park between July and September, when 70 percent of the annual 1.6 million patrons visit and cause traffic congestion.[18][19] NPS also considered using parking permits and bus shuttles from a remote parking lot similar to systems at other national parks.[19][20]
Biology
Flora
According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation types, Mount Rainier National Park has an Alpine Meadows & Barren, or Alpine tundra (52) potential vegetation type with an Alpine Meadow (11) potential vegetation form.[21] The park's vegetation is diverse, reflecting the varied climatic and environmental conditions encountered across the park's 12,800-foot elevation gradient. More than 960 vascular plant species and more than 260 nonvascular plant species have been identified in the park.[5]
The National Park Service says that "Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly."[24] During the 1971/72 year, 93.5 ft (28,500 mm) of snow fell, setting a world record for that year.[24][25][26] Subsequently, in the 1998/99 year, Mount Baker Ski Area received 95 ft (28,956 mm).[27] Paradise holds the Cascade Range record for most snow on the ground with 30.583 feet (9,321.7 mm) on March 10, 1956.[28]
Climate data for Longmire Rainier NPS, Washington, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1909–present
The park's most popular natural features vary based on the season. During the spring, the remaining snow and waterfalls are visible from many trails and other portions of the park; a summertime wildflower bloom in July and August also attracts many visitors.[36][37]
Paradise
View of the south face of Mount Rainier from the Skyline Trail in Paradise
Paradise (46°47′N121°44′W / 46.79°N 121.74°W / 46.79; -121.74 (Paradise)[38]) is the name of an area at approximately 5,400 feet (1,600 m) on the south slope of Mount Rainier in the national park. Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park.[39] 62% of the over 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000 went to Paradise.[40] Paradise, near the subalpine valley of the Paradise River, is the location of the historic Paradise Inn, built in 1916;[41] Paradise Guide House, built in 1920; and Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center, built in 1966[42] rebuilt in 2008.[43][44]
Longmire is the location of Mount Rainier's National Park Inn, the Longmire Museum, and the 1928 National Park Service Administration Building, which is now a Wilderness Information Center. The National Park Inn is the only accommodation in the park open all year round.[46]
Longmire is the second most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park after Paradise. Of the more than 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000, 38% visited Longmire.[40] The Cougar Rock Campground is about 2 miles (3.2 km) north west of Longmire [3] with 173 individual campsites and 5 group sites and open from late May through late September. Longmire is one of the starting points of the Wonderland Trail.
Christine Falls, one of many waterfalls visible after a short walk from the main road
Ohanapecosh/oʊˈhænəpɪkɔːʃ/ is a campground (with 188 individual sites and 2 group sites, open from late May through late September), visitor center (closed during the 2013 season), and ranger station located in the southeastern portion of the park, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) from the park boundary off State Route 123. Located in a deep valley among old growth forest at an elevation below 2,000 feet (610 m), it is the only developed area of the park without a view of Mount Rainier. The Ohanapecosh Hot Springs, Grove of the Patriarchs, and Silver Falls are all located in the Ohanapecosh area.
The Carbon River Entrance Station is located in the northwest corner of the park off State Route 165 and is the site of the only rainforest at Mount Rainier. There is a campground and a short trail through the rainforest, as well as 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 located near the lake.
The two major roads into the northwest quadrant of the Park were severely damaged by the floods of 2006. The ranger station at the Carbon River entrance is staffed during the summer. No motor vehicles are permitted beyond that point.
Transportation
The park is primarily accessed by vehicles; in 2021, over 1 million vehicles carried the majority of the 2.4 million visitors to Mount Rainier National Park.[47] The Nisqually Entrance is served by State Route 706, while State Route 410 cuts across the northeast corner of the park. State Route 123 connects the southeastern side of the park to State Route 410 and U.S. Route 12.[48][49]
A regional airport was proposed for several sites in southern Pierce County that would be 17 to 23 miles (27 to 37 km) from the park. Its development was opposed by the park superintendent and environmental groups due to the potential effects of noise pollution and air pollution on wildlife, as well as traffic impacts around the park entrances.[50]
^ abMount Rainier National Park (Map) (Centennial ed.). 1:30,000. Cartography by Charles B. Kitterman/Kulshan Cartographic Services. Stanley Maps. 2000. ISBN0-9662209-4-3.
^"Mount Rainier National Park". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
^ ab
Burtchard, Greg C. (November 17, 2004) [February 1998]. "Chapter 4: The 1995 Mount Rainier Archeological Reconnaissance". Environment, Prehistory & Archaeology of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. with contributions by Stephen C. Hamilton and Richard H. McClure, Jr. National Park Service, Seattle, Washington; International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
^Parts of the Carbon River Road, once a vehicle-accessible entrance to the park, also washed out. The road has since remained closed to vehicle traffic. [1]
^Mount Rainier East, Washington (Map). 1 : 24,000. 7,5 Minute Series (Topographic). United States Geological Survey. 1971. ISBN0-607-01198-X. Coordinate measured using National Geographic TOPO! Software Version 3.4.3.
^Pitcher, Don (2002). Moon Handbooks Washington. Moon Handbooks (7th ed.). Avalon Travel Publishing. pp. 615–616. ISBN1-56691-386-1.
^Barnes, Christine; Pfulghoft, Fred (Photographer); Morris, David (Photographer) (2002). Great Lodges of the National Parks: The Companion Book to the PBS Television Series. W W West. pp. 48–57. ISBN0-9653924-5-7.
^"Mt. Rainier National Park Centennial Timeline 1960s". Mount Rainier National Park Centennial Celebration. National Park Service. 1999. Retrieved May 22, 2007. 1966: The Paradise Visitor Center (in 1987 dedicated as the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center), is opened to the public in September.
^Washington State Department of Transportation (2014). Washington State Highways, 2014–2015(PDF) (Map). 1:842,000. Olympia: Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
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