Paradise is the name of an area at approximately on the south slope of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States. Southeast of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, the area lies on the border of Pierce and

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

counties and includes the Paradise Valley and the

Paradise Glacier Paradise Glacier is a glacier on the southeast flank of Mount Rainier in Washington. It covers and contains 0.8 billion ft3 (23 million m3) with Stevens Glacier included. The glacier is bounded to the west by the Muir Snowfield, Anvil Rock and ...

, the source of the

Paradise River ''For the Canadian community, see Paradise River, Newfoundland and Labrador'' The Paradise River is a small, short but swift river in Pierce County, Washington. It is the first major tributary of the Nisqually River. Located entirely within th ...

. Virinda Longmire named Paradise in the summer of 1885 while she viewed the wildflowers in the

alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

s there. Paradise also offers views of Mount Rainier and the

Tatoosh Range The Tatoosh Range is a mountain range located in Mount Rainier National Park and the adjacent Tatoosh Wilderness in the state of Washington (state), Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.Mandrake"Tatoosh Range."SummitPo ...

."Building isn't quite paradise.''
''Eugene Register-Guard,'' June 14, 1999. Accessed on July 15, 2011, from Google News Archive.

Tourism and history

Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park. 62% of the over 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000 went to Paradise. The road from the Nisqually entrance of the National Park to Paradise ( State Route 706) is one of the few roads in the park open to automobiles in the winter. The first road to Paradise was completed in 1911. In the late 1800s, as more visitors began arriving at Longmire Springs, most were not content with the view of Mt. Rainier from the resort. To accommodate the demands of his growing customer base,

James Longmire James Longmire (c. 1820 – 1897) was an American explorer and settler. He led the first wagon train on the Naches Trail across the Cascades Range at Naches Pass in 1853, and then settled on Yelm Prairie within view of Mount Rainier. His homeste ...

's son, Elcaine, constructed a rough path from the resort to Paradise Park around 1885. In 1892 (or possibly 1895), Elcaine's son, Leonard, along with a resort employee by the name of Henry Carter, constructed a foot and bridle path that followed the Paradise River up to Paradise Park. During the ensuing years the Longmire's charged tourists 50 cents to use the new and improved route.Doran, Jeffrey J. (2023), ''Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World'', Paradise is the location of the historic

Paradise Inn Paradise Inn is a historic hotel built in 1916 at on the south slope of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington (state), Washington, United States. The inn is named after Paradise, Washington, Paradise, the area of the mounta ...

(built 1916), Paradise Guide House (built 1920) and

Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center The Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center is a day-use facility located in the Paradise, Washington, Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park. The facility offers exhibits, films, guided ranger programs, a book store, a snack bar, a gift shop, and p ...

(built 1966; replaced 2008; original building demolished 2009). The inn is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The historic center of Paradise was designated the Paradise Historic District. Paradise visitor center

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

was built in the area in 1931; five years later, a

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher ...

for

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

was installed. These were both added as facilities for use by the guests of the inn. From 1942 to 1943, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

used the inn to house troops ( 87th Mountain Infantry) training for winter mountain conditions. The National Park Service undertook a two-year, $30 million project to perform renovations and structural work to allow the inn withstand a large earthquake and to replace the "flying saucer-shaped"

with a new building of the same name complementing the historic lodge. The inn re-opened in 2008, along with the new visitor center. The old visitor center was demolished in 2009. Skyline trail looking south

Climate

The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

says that "Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly." () of snow fell during the winter of 1971–1972, setting a world record at the time. The minimum annual snowfall at Paradise was 266 inches in the winter of 2014–15, and the maximum snowpack was () on March 9–10, 1956. No snowfall measurements were made from 1943 to 1946 as the road to Paradise was closed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The high snowfall is in spite of no month recording average highs below freezing. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Paradise has a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

that may also be described as ''

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

'' or ''

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

''.

References

Bibliography

External links

Mount Rainier National Park - Paradise (U.S. National Park Service)
- Paradise area of the National Park from the National Park Service.

- Construction at the Paradise Inn and the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center. {{authority control Landmarks in Washington (state) Geography of Pierce County, Washington Tourist attractions in Pierce County, Washington Mount Rainier National Park Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)