| Mount Rainier Wilderness was established in 1899. It consists of 235,625 acres (97% is designated Wilderness). Includes Mount Rainier (14,410'), an active volcano encased in over miles of snow and ice. The park contains outstanding examples of old growth forests and sub-alpine meadows. Twenty-seven named glaciers spill down the slopes, covering approximately 37 square miles, making it the largest field of glaciers in the Lower 48. The distinguishing aspects of the park only begin with the mountain. You'll find 300 miles of maintained trails, 382 bodies of water, almost 500 miles of rivers and streams, 54 species of mammals, 787 of plants, 130 of birds, and 17 of reptiles and amphibians. Most of the 235,612 acres of the park are designated Wilderness. Within the park but outside the Wilderness visitors are free to pitch a tent at one of about 600 regulated campsites. As many as 10,000 climbers attempt the summit every year. Due to rapid weather changes and altitude gain, only about half of those who attempt to reach the top actually make it. The 93-mile Wonderland Trail, which completes a loop around the base of Mount Rainier. It ascends to alpine meadows aflame with summer wildflowers, past clear lakes, then down into canyons cut deeply by streams into the old lava that once flowed from the mountain's crater. Mount Rainier was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1997 as a showcase for the "NPS Rustic" style architecture of the 1920s and 1930s. Whether hiking on its flanks, climbing its summit, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing on its slopes, camping along its glacier-fed rivers, photographing wildflower displays in subalpine meadows, or just admiring the view, nearly two million people come to enjoy the grandeur and beauty of Mount Rainier each year. |
|
