Entrance station · Mount Rainier National Park
Get a map before setting out on the cross-park road.
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 area
Laughingwater Creek: A Full Day to Three Lakes“You're coming up on Laughingwater Creek trailhead, where the hike to Three Lakes starts across the highway from the parking area.”
Plays on the road 0.3 mi from Stevens Canyon Entrance 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
Stevens Canyon Entrance is the staffed vehicle station on SR 123 where you enter the east end of Stevens Canyon Road. Stop to pay the entrance fee or show your pass, pick up a park map and newspaper, ask staff a question, or get a permit. It sits next to the Grove of the Patriarchs Trailhead, but those are separate stops: use the entrance station for entry and the road, and the trailhead for the walk.
Stevens Canyon Road is the only road connecting Mount Rainier's east and west sides. From here it heads west toward Box Canyon, Paradise and Reflection Lakes, so grab a map before setting out if you're crossing the park. Construction began in the late 1930s, paused during World War II, and the road opened to the public in 1957.
The station was built in 1964 in the National Park Service's Mission 66 style. Look for the planted island between the travel lanes, a simple mid-century detail of this gateway.
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
ModerateEastside Trail to Ohanapecosh Falls7.4 mi · 4 hr · 0.2 mi awayA forest walk to a nearly 70-foot, two-tier waterfall.
EasyGrove of the Patriarchs Trail1.1 mi · 1 hr · 0.2 mi awayAn easy island loop under some of Mount Rainier’s biggest trees.
ModerateCowlitz Divide Trail8.5 mi · 5 hr · 0.2 mi awayAn old-growth creek walk ends at a backcountry junction.
ChallengingLaughingwater Creek Trail12 mi · 6 hr · 0.3 mi awayA steady forest climb to backcountry lakes and an old patrol cabin.
ModerateSilver Falls Loop Trail2.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayAn old-growth river loop to a 75-foot waterfall.
EasyHot Springs Nature Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 1.4 mi awayA shaded walk to bubbling springs and an old resort site.
ChallengingShriner Peak Trail8 mi · 6 hr · 3.2 mi awayA tough, exposed climb to a historic lookout and wide views.
ChallengingIndian Bar Trail14.5 mi · 11 hr · 3.7 mi awayA hard ridge crossing opens into a waterfall-filled alpine basin.Sight · 0.2 mi awaySilver FallsA 60-foot drop and a footbridge in an old-growth gorge.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayGrove of the PatriarchsOld-growth conifers on a small island in the Ohanapecosh River
Campground · 1.4 mi awayOhanapecosh CampgroundOld-growth shade, river access, and hikes right from camp.
Visitor center · 1.4 mi awayOhanapecosh Visitor CenterTrail advice and deep local history under old-growth trees.
Picnic area · 1.5 mi awayOhanapecosh Picnic AreaEight tables and grills in the old-growth Ohanapecosh forest.
Sight · 2.7 mi awaySR 123 South Entrance ArchA cedar-log gateway added decades after the road opened.
Sight · 3.4 mi awayOhanapecosh FallsTwo drops, a footbridge, and a long walk into the forest.
Sight · 3.7 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.
