Picnic area · Mount Rainier National Park
Eight tables and grills in the old-growth Ohanapecosh forest.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Rainier Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Rainier National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Mount Rainier audio tourRecorded for this place
Ohanapecosh: Old Forest and Silver Falls“Up ahead is Ohanapecosh, where huge firs, cedars and hemlocks shade the river. I'd stop here for the old forest and Silver Falls, where a footbridge brings you beside white water pouring through a rocky gorge.”
Plays as you drive up to Ohanapecosh Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Mount Rainier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Ohanapecosh Picnic Area is a day-use stop in Mount Rainier's southeast corner, set among Douglas-fir, western red cedar and western hemlock. It is a practical place to sit down for a meal: eight picnic tables are arranged in three clusters, and each cluster has a grill.
Ohanapecosh is commonly translated as “standing at the edge,” referring to the cliff edges along the bedrock gorge cut by the river.
In the broader campground area, archaeological work uncovered artifacts dating 3,700 to 6,400 years old. They are thought to be connected to Taidnapam ancestors of the Upper Cowlitz and Yakama peoples; these finds were not at the picnic tables themselves.
Natural hot springs drew resorts to Ohanapecosh in the early 1900s. The area remained outside Mount Rainier National Park until 1933; resort operations ended in 1961, and the buildings were later removed.
Wildlife
466 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
383 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsWolverineMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
574 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
1,853 sightingsHoary MarmotMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Rainier. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyHot Springs Nature Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 0.1 mi awayA shaded walk to bubbling springs and an old resort site.
ModerateSilver Falls Loop Trail2.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn old-growth river loop to a 75-foot waterfall.
ChallengingLaughingwater Creek Trail12 mi · 6 hr · 1.2 mi awayA steady forest climb to backcountry lakes and an old patrol cabin.
ModerateCowlitz Divide Trail8.5 mi · 5 hr · 1.4 mi awayAn old-growth creek walk ends at a backcountry junction.
ModerateEastside Trail to Ohanapecosh Falls7.4 mi · 4 hr · 1.6 mi awayA forest walk to a nearly 70-foot, two-tier waterfall.
EasyGrove of the Patriarchs Trail1.1 mi · 1 hr · 1.6 mi awayAn easy island loop under some of Mount Rainier’s biggest trees.
ChallengingIndian Bar Trail14.5 mi · 11 hr · 3.8 mi awayA hard ridge crossing opens into a waterfall-filled alpine basin.
EasyBox Canyon Loop Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 3.8 mi awayA short paved loop peers into a deep, river-cut canyon.
Visitor center · 0.1 mi awayOhanapecosh Visitor CenterTrail advice and deep local history under old-growth trees.
Campground · 0.1 mi awayOhanapecosh CampgroundOld-growth shade, river access, and hikes right from camp.Sight · 1.2 mi awaySilver FallsA 60-foot drop and a footbridge in an old-growth gorge.
Sight · 1.3 mi awaySR 123 South Entrance ArchA cedar-log gateway added decades after the road opened.
Entrance station · 1.5 mi awayStevens Canyon EntranceGet a map before setting out on the cross-park road.
Sight · 2 mi awayGrove of the PatriarchsOld-growth conifers on a small island in the Ohanapecosh River
Scenic pullout · 2.4 mi awayBackbone RidgeA roadside stop for Rainier and Tatoosh views when skies cooperate.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayBox CanyonThe river squeezes through a 13-foot slot in the granite.Parkwolf’s Mount Rainier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
