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    Sunrise Visitor Center

    4.6 (14 reviews)

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    Trail to nowhere, no sign till you continue to walk for half mile
    Joyce T.

    Souvenir shop opens late at 11am. The trails around the area are many but lacking of a good signboard. We have a hard time finding the Emmons vista and silver forest trail. The sourdough ridge too, we were overshot by a mile and decided to continue till we got to the frozen lake. Overall mid July is not a good time to visit this place as most of the wildflowers were not blooming yet.

    Me in 1992 with my best friend Eric
    Steph B.

    Fantastic place, an active volcano, a rain forest, a glacier, and GIANT trees. My first experience in 1992 was tough. We trekked a quarter of the way around the mountain and then joined Rainier Mountainiering on a summit attempt. We made it well past Desperation Cleave then ran in (more like crawled) to glass ice and couldn't make it further. Still the view from even 13900 ft is AMAZING. We climbed above the clouds and across an ocean of foam we saw distant peaks like St. Helens and Adams. Back to Sunrise Visitor Center ... this is a great place for a view of the mountain and access to easy to difficult trails. There is a learning center of sorts and ranger staff available

    Feb W.

    Just so you know Sunrise Visitor Center is only open from early June to early September and closed in winter. This is probably my favorite visitor center amongst the five. So far the most aggressive hike I did in Mt. Rainier is located in here. It was a steep, exhausted one yet a very rewarding view I've been so far. I felt my heart pumping while writing this review because this particular hike almost made my body in hypothermia condition. Goodness bandit is with me and almost carried me back to the parking area. Anyhow, this visitor center offers interesting facts and information in the area. Nothing much in here except for this other building which offer some souvenirs to purchased. There are plenty of parking spaces in here yet when they opened in summer it's always packed and tourists do come and go every single day. This center also offers several trails to hike from intermediate to advanced level. And before you leave the center, do not forget to stamp your passport! Cheee-hooo! It's kinda addicting collecting those stamps too. Mahalo for reading and happy juandering fellow yeeps!

    Mt Ranier
    Scott K.

    An awe inspiring location! Words simply cannot describe the view of Mt. Rainier. However the trails are poorly marked with many small trail markers bent or falling down. There was no ranger presence. Parking area had litter blowing around. Boarded up buildings show signs of disrepair & poor upkeep. Such a magnificent location deserves better care.

    A pinnacle of natural beauty! Mt. Rainier is an episodically active volcano, but don't let that scare you. The drive up to Sunrise was beautiful, and the view of Rainier from the visitor center is already picture perfect. But we decided to hike up Sourdough trail. For some extra fun, bring headlamps and hike the trail near sunset. When it falls dark, the stars (and even Milky Way) are fully visible. It was nice of the park to not install lights in the parking lot, which made the sky even brighter.

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    Ask the Community - Sunrise Visitor Center

    Review Highlights - Sunrise Visitor Center

    We trekked a quarter of the way around the mountain and then joined Rainier Mountainiering on a summit attempt.

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    Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center - Beers and snacks sold inside

    Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center

    4.3(16 reviews)
    10.0 mi

    + Good trailhead checkpoint to begin Mt Rainier hikes. +…read moreRestrooms, drinking water. + A restaurant too. + Enticing museum upstairs. + The weather is chilling cold, even in June. Lots of snow and fog throughout the vicinity. + We saw a few marmots along Mazama Ridge. - Glad they didn't issue a parking ticket, only a warning, for everyone parked along the curb across from this Visitor Center. However, they should've built more parking spaces for us. We visited on a June, and it was PACKED! No one could find parking anywhere else. We almost left if we couldn't find parking D:

    This is a beautiful visitors center! Let me start off by talking about parking. Mount Rainier is a…read morepopular national park and this parking lot in Paradise fills up incredibly fast. I suggest that if you want to visit in the morning, show up on a weekday and try to arrive before 7:30 AM. The issue is, the visitors center doesn't open until 10:00 am. Most people show up early for the hikes and won't come back to free up a parking space for an hour or two (or four if you are hiking skyline). Back to the visitor's center.....it's beautiful. Pretty spacious but it does get quite cramped depending on the number of visitors and what time you go. The gift shop is pretty large too but it does get crowded. There is another gift shop a short walk away in the Paradise Inn too, if you are feeling claustrophobic. The park rangers working the desk are so friendly and give useful tips and suggestions about trails. There is a theater room where you can watch a short video on mount rainier too. The upstairs across from the gift shop is a tiny "museum" about the flora and fauna of Mount rainier. It's a great visitors center. The only downside is the women's bathroom needed maintenance (stall doors didn't lock) but overall, one of the best visitor's centers I've visited

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    Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center - Exhibits

    Exhibits

    Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center - Visitor Center

    Visitor Center

    Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center - Museum upstairs across from the gift shop

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    Museum upstairs across from the gift shop

    Mount Rainier National Park - Incline Cider

    Mount Rainier National Park

    4.8(297 reviews)
    17.8 mi

    Mount Rainier NPis such a gorgeous park. The drive up from Seattle was simple and didn't feel like…read morethe 2 plus hours. I was grateful for nearly perfect weather- even with the various microclimates throughout the park. I was prepared for the heavy humidity and the chilli weather. The park was "closed" due to the government shutdown and so we didn't have to pay the entrance fee which was nice. I do however feel bad for the park rangers and staff that were unable to work. We took the route of the Paradise route and stopped at the different viewpoints but there were a few closures. Reflection lake was beautiful but a bit crowded.

    Every year I pick one or two national parks that I have never been to for vacation. This year I…read moredecided to fly to Washington and travel to both Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks. My Dad lived north of the Seattle area for many years, and I would travel to see him. I would always marvel at Mount Rainier when flying over it by plane or seeing it from afar while in Seattle. Its snow-capped peak and overall size are incredible sites to see. Mount Rainier is a 14,410-foot active volcano in Washington's Cascade Range. It is the tallest mountain in Washington State. My Dad never had any interest in seeing this mountain up close, so I made my own trip out here to visit the park and do some hiking. I also ran a 5K that was going on in nearby Ashford to add a little fun to my trip. President William McKinley signed a bill authorizing the creation of Mount Rainier National Park in 1899. It is the nation's fifth national park. There are many cities around Mount Rainier National Park that you can stay in. I stayed in Packwood, which is southeast of the park. I took an overnight flight to Seattle-Tacoma and drove straight to the park where I ended up sleeping in my rental truck for a few hours until the sun came up. Mount Rainier National Park now requires a timed entry reservation made in advance during peak hours. I had got there early enough to avoid having to wait in the timed entry line. I began my day hiking to base of Mount Rainier on the popular 5.5-mile Skyline Loop Trail. It was a beautiful trail full of wildflowers, waterfalls, snow and wildlife. Marmots were running around all over and providing all sorts of entertainment for us hikers. The Skyline Trail begins and ends next to the visitor center in Paradise. At the visitor center, you can grab a bite to eat and check out exhibits that provide some history and information about this beautiful park. I spent much of my time driving around Mount Rainier National Park and enjoying its breathtaking views. The park has four main entrances - Nisqually, Carbon River, White River/Sunrise and Stevens Canyon. I was able to check out several waterfalls while exploring the park. Narada Falls was probably my favorite. One beautiful place to check out is Reflection Lake where you can see a reflection of Mount Rainier in the lake. Longmire is another popular destination that has lodging, camping, food, a visitor center and is the location of the park's original National Park Service Administration Building (which is now an information center). Ohanapecosh is an area in the park that has many campsites. I did make time to drive to Sunrise to get a different view of Mount Rainier. Sunrise is the highest point in the park that is accessible by vehicle at an elevation of 6,400 feet. When I visit national parks, I try to do a hike each day while I am in the park. There are 168 trails in Mount Rainier National Park. So I had to be selective in how many I could do because of time. After hiking the Skyline Loop Trail, I ended up doing some shorter day hikes like the Twin Firs Loop Trail and Bench & Snow Lakes Trail. I also did some hiking in the Sunrise area. There are so many trails to choose from at various lengths and difficulty. There is no Wi-Fi in Mount Rainier National Park. So I had to rely mostly on paper maps to get around. But if you do need Wi-Fi, you can stop at any of the three visitor centers in the park to connect. There are also park rangers on hand who are very helpful and will answer any questions that you may have. You will find restrooms, merchandise and food options at the visitor centers. I am so glad that I finally made my way to this beautiful national park to see this incredible mountain. Hiking the Skyline Trail and seeing some of the waterfalls were the highlights for me on this trip. Flying to Washington to spend some time in Mount Rainier National Park is an experience that I won't forget. I look forward to a return visit someday.

    Photos
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    Mount Rainier Wild Huckleberry Razzle Candy Bar

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    Mt St Helens Visitor Center  - Interior

    Mt St Helens Visitor Center

    4.5(68 reviews)
    70.3 mi

    Very beautiful visitor center. It reopened in 2025 after being closed for renovations and I have to…read moresay, the architecture is GORGEOUS with vaulted ceilings and large windows to let in the surroundings. There's wood paneling which helps you feel immersed into nature. There's an informational desk about the area, helpful for visitors newish to the area or those with questions. The gift shop is also accessible with the usual offerings of post cards, tchotchkes, and such. Do note that the restrooms are accessible outdoors at the side of the building. There's a pay area part of the center which is $5/18+, $2.50/7-17, free for 6 years old or younger, and family $15 for 2 adults and children 7-17 years old. They also honor veteran's disabled pass, WA state disabled pass, and senior limited income pass. It's definitely worth the admission, since there's a lot of exhibits explaining the geology of the area, the flora and fauna, the native peoples, and the later commercial and recreational uses of the area. There's even a place where you can walk into a huge mock up of Mt St Helens! Very fun. They have a short film playing about the eruption too. I didn't get to explore much outside as it was super rainy, but I saw a boardwalk trail out in the back. I did not see Mt St Helens due to the weather, but I'll be back when the weather is nicer!

    Just stopped in to get a map and road conditions. you can…read morepay a small fee and see the exhibits. Discounts for Washington Residents only.

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    Mt St Helens Visitor Center
    Mt St Helens Visitor Center
    Mt St Helens Visitor Center  - Exhibits

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    Exhibits

    Snoqualmie Pass Visitors Center

    Snoqualmie Pass Visitors Center

    5.0(2 reviews)
    37.0 mi

    After having read/heard about the snowshoe walk that Snoqualmie Falls Park offers, a group of us…read morefinally went and had our chances to snowshoe for the first time at Snoqualmie Falls Park. The rangers at the Snoqualmie Falls Park Visitor Center were very friendly and helpful. You could tell they love the nature and love showing off how amazing and beautiful the nature in the Pacific Northwest is! Our 90 min (the walk was actually free, but with a suggested donation of $15/person) snowshoe walk was scheduled at 10am and the weather happened to be perfect! It was sunny, not too cold...and clear sky! :) Very beautiful! The walk itself was not too strenuous...as it was just a mile walk (although it involved going up and down the hill a bit...so if you are taking someone senior, make sure they are comfortable with walking...a couple people brought their own snow/walking poles too!). There was so much snow (and even a thick, fresh layer of snow when we went!) even though it was already getting into Spring in early March. From what we found out, the walk that we did was on the snow that was 5-6 feet above the ground...how amazing was that! We started off the walk with how to put on snow shoe, then did a little race to get us more oriented into our snowshoe, did some nature walk and ended with time for some photo / snowball fight opportunities. If you are interested in the snowshoe walk, I highly recommend calling and making reservations ahead of time. They only offer free walks on weekends and only in Jan-Mar and even though we called almost a month ahead of our scheduled, the tours were very much booked (although there may be a few spots open up because of last min no-shows if you happened to get lucky). This snowshoe nature walk is a great, very fun experience for anyone (family and/or friends) and a good, short trip away from Seattle!

    Did the photo snowshoe hike led by Chuck Davis on Feb 15 . http://alpinescenes.net/biography.html…read more The snow was coming down pretty hard and the cloud cover was low so not great photo ops but Chuck was terrific and prepared with thoughtful lessons on composition, histograms, etc - he covered a lot of territory and was very knowledgeable. He was warm , friendly, entertaining,and professional. His walk really had a great blend of nature, photography and safety education. He took us off trail a little which was great and we tried to find the elusive snowshoe hare. The caboose ranger was Hailu who was very nice, friendly and professional. I always felt safe and able to ask any questions or let them know if I was cold or working too hard. They were very aware of how people were feeling and ensured a pleasant time by keeping a good pace. The staff in the office was also terrific - all of them. I called several times in advance with questions and if it went to voice mail, they ALWAYS called me back - WOW! Don't get that much anymore. You can tell they love what they do and want the best for the patrons. If you have never tried snowshoeing before they'll provide you with free snowshoes, poles and only ask for a donation. It is a great safe environment to go tromping including younger ones. Highly recommend for beginners or not. http://snowshoeingsnoqualmiepass.wordpress.com/ Our trip was in Commonwealth Basin and I think it was about 3 mi roundtrip - pretty easy exercise, but some uphill. I think it ended a little early because we were getting a little chilled. The photo walk is not very aerobic so be prepared with layers to do some stopping for discussion, lunch and picture taking.

    Photos
    Snoqualmie Pass Visitors Center
    Snoqualmie Pass Visitors Center - Interior

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    Interior

    Sunrise Visitor Center - visitorcenters - Updated May 2026

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