Sight · Mount Rainier National Park
Eight basalt columns honor four people who died while helping others.
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
Longmire: A Museum, Mineral Springs and a Meal“You're nearing Longmire, the historic village that became park headquarters in eighteen ninety-nine.”
Plays as you drive up to Valor Memorial 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
Valor Memorial is a small stone memorial beside Longmire Community Building, in a grove of fir and spruce. Eight basalt columns, seven set in a natural grouping and one at the entrance, honor four people from the park community who died while saving others. It’s a quiet, 5–10 minute stop.
The memorial names Nick Hall, Margaret Anderson, Phil Otis and Sean Ryan. Hall died on Emmons Glacier during a 2012 rescue; Anderson was killed during a traffic stop near Paradise in 2012; Otis and Ryan died on Winthrop Glacier in 1995 while responding to an injured climber.
The memorial was dedicated on August 25, 2017, the National Park Service’s 101st anniversary. Its basalt forms echo the columnar andesite bands on Rampart Ridge. On clear days, Mount Rainier is visible from here; frame the stones with the mountain, then look across to the ridge that inspired their shape.
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
ChallengingEagle Peak Trail7.2 mi · 5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA steep forest climb earns a flowered saddle and Rainier views.
ChallengingWonderland Trail93 mi · 3.3 days · 0.3 mi awayA strenuous 93-mile circuit around Mount Rainier.
ChallengingIndian Henry's Hunting Ground via Longmire13 mi · 8 hr · 0.3 mi awayA long climb to historic meadows and Mount Rainier views.
ModerateRampart Ridge Trail4.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.3 mi awayA steep forest climb to a Rainier and glacier view.
EasyTrail of the Shadows0.7 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayA short loop through Longmire’s springs and resort history
EasyTwin Firs Loop Trail0.4 mi · 20 min · 1.6 mi awayA short loop among Douglas-firs, cedars, and hemlocks.
ModerateCarter and Madcap Falls Trail3 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayTwo waterfalls and old-growth forest beyond the Nisqually log bridge.
ChallengingIndian Henry's Hunting Ground via Kautz Creek Trail11.5 mi · 7 hr · 2.2 mi awayA steep climb to a historic cabin in Rainier's wildflower meadows.
Sight · At the trailheadLongmire Community Building ViewpointA glacier-fed river, a 1927 park building, and a strong Rainier view.
Lodging · 0.2 mi awayNational Park InnYear-round historic lodging in Longmire with a porch view of Rainier.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayLongmire MuseumOne historic room, a mountain lion, and the park’s early story
Store · 0.2 mi awayLongmire General StoreA 1911 log shop for snacks and trail supplies.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayNisqually Suspension BridgeA historic timber bridge over the Nisqually, with Rainier in view.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayLongmire Transportation ExhibitRoad history told inside a landmark gas stationSight · 0.2 mi awayLongmire Service StationA 1929 roadside station turned into a park travel-history exhibit.
Visitor center · 0.3 mi awayLongmire Wilderness Information CenterPermits and ranger advice in Longmire’s historic log-and-stone building.Parkwolf’s Mount Rainier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
