Visitor center · Mount Rainier National Park
Get climbing help where summit attempts have begun since 1922.
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
Paradise: Meadows, Myrtle Falls and the Inn“You're coming up on Paradise, where meadow walks start beside the visitor center and historic inn.”
Plays as you drive up to Paradise Wilderness Information Center in the Parkwolf Mount Rainier Tour Guide.
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“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
The Paradise Wilderness Information Center is a ranger desk in the two-story historic Guide House, across from Paradise Inn. Come here for wilderness and climbing permits, maps, trip planning and trail-condition updates. It’s a specialist backcountry stop; the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center is a separate building for the broader Paradise visitor experience.
The Rainier National Park Company built the Guide House in 1920. Climbers have started summit attempts from its threshold since 1922, and concessioners led guided climbs from the building from the 1920s into the early 2000s. Its current information desk keeps that climbing connection in use.
Stone-and-timber alpine-rustic buildings were common at Paradise in the 1920s and ’30s; the Guide House’s gambrel roof is the unusual part. The building contributes to the Paradise Historic District, and an interpretive panel covers its place in the area’s climbing story.
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
ModerateGolden Gate Loop Trail4 mi · 3 hr · At the trailheadWildflower meadows, Myrtle Falls and a high notch above Paradise.
ChallengingSkyline Trail Loop5.5 mi · 4.5 hr · At the trailheadA strenuous Paradise loop past glaciers, Panorama Point and Myrtle Falls.
ModerateAlta Vista Trail Loop1.7 mi · 1.5 hr · At the trailheadA short climb opens broad views of Paradise and the Tatoosh.
ChallengingPebble Creek Trail4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · At the trailheadClimb through Paradise meadows to the edge of the Muir Snowfield.
EasySkyline Trail to Myrtle Falls1 mi · 36 min · 0.1 mi awayA quick paved climb to a braided waterfall with Rainier behind.
ModerateParadise Glacier Trail5.1 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayFollow Skyline over flower meadows and steps to a glacier basin.
ModerateLakes Trail Loop via Mazama Ridge5.3 mi · 4 hr · 0.1 mi awayLink Reflection Lakes, Faraway Rock, Mazama Ridge, and Myrtle Falls.
ModerateNarada Falls Trail from Paradise3.1 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayThe longer Paradise walk drops to the foot of a 168-foot waterfall.
Sight · At the trailheadParadise Ski-Tow PowerhouseA little A-frame recalls Paradise’s lift-served ski years.
Visitor center · 0.1 mi awayHenry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor CenterStart a Paradise visit with ranger advice and Rainier in view.
Lodging · 0.1 mi awayParadise InnA grand timber lodge with a 14-foot clock and trail access.
Historic marker · 0.2 mi away10th Mountain Division MemorialA small memorial to the 10th Mountain Division at Paradise.
Picnic area · 0.4 mi awayParadise Picnic AreaA laid-back lunch among 100-plus tables, with Rainier views on clear days.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayMyrtle FallsThe falls and Rainier share a frame worth descending for.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayEdith Gorge FallsA short roadside stop for Edith Creek's steep, narrow gorge.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayNisqually VistaA clear day makes the Nisqually Glacier worth the short walk.Parkwolf’s Mount Rainier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
