Paradise Inn

Paradise Inn is a 121-room historic lodge at about 5,400 feet in the Paradise meadows. It is worth a stop even without a room: the landmark building has a grand lobby, dining room, cafe and gift shop, with meadow trails close by. For an exterior photo, step back enough to show the long roof and timber braces in their setting, with Mount Rainier or the Tatoosh Range behind them.

The open timber frame is the first thing to notice inside. Look for the two large cedar tables, a stump-shaped mail drop and the 14-foot clock. The lobby still works as a place to pause after a walk, not just a corridor between rooms.

Construction began in 1916, and the Inn opened on July 1, 1917 with 37 guest rooms and a dining room sized for 400. Heath, Grove & Bell designed it with the feel of a European alpine resort, a more playful look than the low-profile rustic buildings used elsewhere in the park. The building was rehabilitated from 2006 to 2008.

The four-story Annex was added in 1920 and connects to the original Inn by the Snow Bridge. It was meant to be one of two wings; the other was never built, and its planned location can still be seen. The Inn and Annex together form a National Historic Landmark.

The meadows have a much longer human history than the lodge. Nisqually, Yakama, Puyallup, Cowlitz and other tribes traveled here to hunt and gather. The Paradise Historic Landmark district recognizes that history and the area's later role in park recreation.