Nisqually Entrance

Nisqually Entrance is Mount Rainier’s southwest gateway, a log arch and staffed fee station on SR 706 east of Ashford. It is the year-round way into Longmire and the park’s main approach to Paradise, so most visitors pass through on the way to somewhere else. Rangers at the booths collect the entrance fee and provide park information, a map, and the park newspaper. This is the park’s busiest entrance, and lines can build; arriving early gives you the best chance of moving through without a long wait.

SR 706 from Nisqually to Longmire generally stays open through winter except in extreme weather. Beyond Longmire, the road to Paradise closes overnight in winter, so a late arrival at the entrance does not guarantee a continuous drive up. For navigation, use 39000 State Route 706 E in Ashford; the park headquarters address routes somewhere else.

The first log portal went up in 1911 after the Interior Department called for a rustic entrance. Four cedar-log columns, each nearly four feet across, supported beams over the road with 18½ feet of clearance. The arch standing today was built in 1973 as a reconstruction of the 1930s replacement of that original, then restored in 2005. Its rough-hewn logs are a good example of National Park Service Rustic design, which used natural materials to blend structures into their setting.

The wider Nisqually entrance area served as park headquarters and the first ranger station until 1917. Nearby, the Oscar Brown Cabin dates to 1908 and is the oldest remaining government structure in the park; it served as a ranger residence and check-in station until 1926. The arch is the visitor-facing landmark, but the entrance area carries the story of the park’s earliest operations.

For a photo, include the full timber opening, the park sign, and the curve of road beneath it; a tight crop loses the sense of arrival. This is an active entrance road, so only stop where it is safe and permitted rather than pausing in a lane.