Mount Rainier National Park

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Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park encompasses 236,381 acres including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet. The highest point in the Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine wildflower meadows, old growth forest and more than 25 glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends.

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Published: 2012-04-28 03:00:00 UTC

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Reflection Lakes

About 1.8 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountain climbing with some 10,000 attempts per year with approximately 50% making it to the summit.

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Ohanapecosh

Ohanapecosh is a campground, visitor center, and ranger station located in the southeastern portion of the park, approximately 3 miles from the park boundary off Highway 123. Located in a deep valley among old growth forest at an elevation below 2,000 feet, it is the only developed area of the park without a view of Mount Rainier.

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Comet Falls

At first glance the falls drop about 300 feet out of a hanging valley in one lofty plunge. The height of the plunge is actually 320 feet. The falls are more than that though, as there are two obvious smaller tiers below the main drop as well as one just visible above the main drop. The falls are thought to be the best in the Mount Rainier region.

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Mount Rainier from Sunrise

Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano and is the highest mountain in Washington and the Cascade Range. It is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. Because of its large amount of glacial ice, Mt. Rainier could potentially produce massive lahars that would threaten the whole Puyallup River valley.

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Carbon Rainforest

A natural rainforest emits and absorbs vast quantities of carbon dioxide. On a global scale, long-term fluxes are approximately in balance, so that an undisturbed rainforest would have a small net impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, though they may have other climatic effects (on cloud formation, for example, by recycling water vapour).

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Paradise

Paradise is the name of an area at approximately 5,400 feet on the south slope of Mount Rainier. Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park.

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Mount Rainier's Glaciers

With 26 major glaciers and 36 sq mi of permanent snowfields and glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states.

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Stevens Canyon

Ninety-seven percent of the park is preserved as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System, including Clearwater Wilderness and Mount Rainier Wilderness, a designation it received in 1988.

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Goat Island Mountain

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. A more substantial archeological find was a rock shelter near Fryingpan Creek, east of Goat Island Mountain.