Longmire, just inside the Nisqually Entrance, is the park's oldest developed area, the site of the historic hotel, which opened in 1899. Here you'll find the old Mount Rainier National Park Headquarters, the National Park Inn, a museum, a general store, a wilderness information center, a post office, and a year-round lodge and restaurant. Although it sounds as if this must be a small city, it is actually quite compact and rarely very crowded.
Paradise, in the south-central portion of the park, is a subalpine meadow and one of the most popular areas for visitors. Nearby you'll find the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center, the park's main visitor center, a gracefully curving stone and concrete structure which houses a snack bar and the only public showers in the park. Interesting exhibits on geology, glaciers, and the local flora and fauna are here. Paradise is also the site of the Paradise Inn (open late May-early Oct), a historic mountain lodge. Rainier Mountaineering Inc., which offers mountaineering classes and leads summit climbs, also has facilities at Paradise.
Ohanapecosh, off Wash. 123 in the park's southeast corner, offers scenic views of the Ohanapecosh River near the small visitor center located here. Inside, look for exhibits focusing primarily on the old-growth forest ecosystem that surrounds this particular area of the park. The 205-site Ohanapecosh Campground is here, as well as several good, short hikes.
At 6,400 feet, Sunrise, in the northeast part of the park, is the highest point to which you can drive in the park. This is the second most popular spot in the park. You'll find displays and naturalist-led walks, a snack bar/restaurant, and interpretive programs on the subalpine and alpine ecosystems. You can also look at the glaciers up close with free telescopes. The visitor center here is open daily from July through mid-September, when the roadway is open.
The Carbon River area, in the northwest corner, provides access to the most heavily forested area in the park. The jury is still out as to whether the terrain is actually lowland forest or temperate rain forest. Trails here lead into the backcountry and connect with the Wonderland Trail. A separate road (Wash. 165) reaches the Mowich Lake area, open to the lake in summer only.
