Opening of Eastside Highway (SR123) at the Eastside Tunnel, June 16, 1940.
Mount Rainier National Park Archives
There are 117 miles of historic roads in Mount Rainier National Park. The main automotive roads in the park are the Nisqually-Paradise Road, Westside Road, Stevens Canyon Road, Eastside Highway (SR123), Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410), Sunrise Road (Yakima Park Highway), Mowich Lake Road, and Carbon River Road (now closed to vehicles). Each of these roads is counted as a contributing structure to the park’s overall historic district.
The first road to be built in the park was the Nisqually to Paradise Road, constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers between 1906-1916, but most of the major road construction work occurred in the 1920s-1930s. NPS landscape designers collaborated with engineers from the US Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) to ensure that upgrades to existing roads were constructed as sensitively as possible and that new roads and facilities “harmonize” with their local environment. Routes followed the contours of the landscape to minimize road cuts and maximize views. Rustic-style construction included hand-laid masonry guard walls built from local granite while concrete bridges and tunnel portals were veneered in stone masonry. Scenic pullouts or overlooks were especially significant aspects of the park road system and included in the historic district. These areas served as parking areas, viewing terraces, and trailheads. In addition to maintaining these features, the current roads still follow their original alignment in most cases and have good historic integrity. The successful master plan of Mount Rainier’s roads became a blueprint for other parks of that era.
As with the trail system, an “around-the-mountain" system of roads was envisioned for Mount Rainier National Park during the 1910s to early 1920s and partially achieved during the following decades. On the east side of the park, Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410) and the Eastside Highway (SR123) completed an eastern traverse of the park from north to south. The Eastside Highway follows in part a 1916 trail that connected the town of Packwood to the Ohanapecosh Hot Springs concession, which was outside of the park at that time. During the 1920s, Washington State constructed a road from the south to the park’s southeast entrance as well as a road on the north side to connect to the town of Naches on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range. In 1931, the park boundary expanded to include the Ohanapecosh area and the Naches Pass Highway, which was completed and renamed the Mather Memorial Parkway in 1932. The Eastside Highway was not completed until 1940, the roads meeting at Cayuse Pass and becoming the first through-road in the park.
Sunrise Point construction along Sunrise (Yakima Park) Road, August 1930.
Mount Rainier National Park Archives
Stevens Canyon Road succeeded in connecting in the east and west sides of the park on the south side of the mountain. Construction began in 1931 and continued during the 1930s until 1941, when World War II suspended operations on building bridges due to lack of steel. Work on the road resumed in 1952, with Stevens Canyon Road officially opening in 1957. The later portions of the road between Stevens Creek and the Cowlitz Divide, along with two bridges and a tunnel completed in the 1950s, follow the original plans and are part of the historic district.
Meanwhile there were plans to complete roads on the north and west sides of the park. Westside Road would connect the Nisqually Entrance in the southwest to Mowich Lake Road in the northwest. Carbon River Road was intended to carve a path along the northern border of the park, with plans to connect to highways on the east side. However, budget constraints and the rugged topography of the mountain prevented completion of these roads. The “around-the-mountain" plan was abandoned in favor of a partial loop system that relied more heavily on roads outside of the park. Westside Road, Carbon River Road, and Mowich Lake Road were left as spur roads. These roads are still considered part of the historic district due to their association with the park’s early master planning.
Likewise, the Yakima Park Highway, now known as the White River and Sunrise Roads, was intended to connect the northeast side of the park, while also providing vehicular access to a subalpine area like Paradise. The route up to Yakima Park was surveyed in 1927, following naturalistic design principles, and construction was completed in 1931. The road curves around the contours of the land, passes close to significant features, and frames dramatic views, making it to this day one of the most stunning and popular drives in Mount Rainier National Park.
Nisqually-Paradise Road Contributing Structures
Nisqually-Paradise Road
Date Constructed: 1904-1915
Builder: US Army Corps/Department of the Interior
Originally called the “Government Road” and as the Nisqually to Paradise Road today, this 18.4-mile road was the first road built in the park. It climbs from 1,500 feet at the Nisqually Entrance up to Paradise at 5,400 feet without ever exceeding a four percent gradient. It was reconstructed in 1918, and in the 1920s -early 1930s, when many notable features were added, but the road mostly follows its original alignment and all major structures associated with the road are original. It has excellent integrity overall to the period of significance.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
This overlook is an older section of the Nisqually-Paradise Road and was considered one of the most dangerous stretches. It was narrow, bordered by steep cliffs, and prone to rockfall. Over the years the road was widened, resurfaced, and parking was included at viewpoints. A detour constructed in the 1930s replaced the original route and became the main Paradise Road, while Ricksecker Point Road was left as a scenic bypass. Ricksecker Point is named for Eugene Ricksecker, an Army Corps of Engineers supervisor who surveyed the route to Paradise in 1904. The survey team originally named the feature “Gap Point”, but it was renamed after a road was constructed in 1909.
Narada Cut-Off Bridge
Date Constructed: 1925, 1963
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Also known as Paradise River Second River Crossing Bridge. Located along the Nisqually-Paradise Road, this section was built in the early 1920s to create a better route to Paradise from Narada Falls. The old road crossed at the “first crossing” bridge and moved up a series of tight one-way switchbacks that limited traffic. The Narada Cut-Off Bridge is 34 feet long, 25 feet wide and the only historic bridge in the park of plain reinforced concrete girder construction without a rock veneer. It was further widened in the 1960s. See Historic Narada Falls Area for more information.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Located on the original route of the Nisqually-Paradise Road, which is now the one-way scenic Paradise Valley Road. Concrete-filled spandrel bridge with masonry veneer and guard walls at the base of Edith Creek Falls. 39 feet long, 25 feet wide.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Located on Nisqually-Paradise Road. Reinforced concrete, three-centered arch structure veneered in native granite. 56 feet long, 30 feet wide, and spans Van Trump Creek. See Historic Christine Falls Area for more information.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Westside Road is 13 miles long and begins at the intersection of the Nisqually Road one mile from the Nisqually Entrance. It was originally intended to connect all the way to the northwest entrances of Carbon River and Mowich Lake, but that plan was abandoned in the mid-1930s and it was left as a spur road. Its period of significance is from 1926-1934. It is open to vehicles for the first three miles in the summer, but due to flood damage from Tahoma Creek the rest of the road to Klapatche Point is only open to hiking/bicycling. The road originally extended to the North Puyallup River, but that section was abandoned in the 1970s. The remaining length of the road from the Nisqually-Paradise Road junction to Klapatche Point has excellent integrity with almost all original structures.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Reinforced concrete-filled spandrel arch veneered in native granite. 90 feet long, 34 feet wide, with a curved, superelevated alignment over the South Puyallup River.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Reinforced concrete-filled spandrel arch veneered in native granite. 115 feet long, 34 feet wide, with a curved, superelevated alignment over the St. Andrews Creek. Sets of stairs descend to the creek from the northeast and southwest corners of the bridge.
Located at Round Pass along Westside Road. A bronze plaque set into a large boulder dedicated to the marines that died in the crash of a troop transport plane into the South Tahoma Glacier near the end of World War II. A set of stairs and a retaining wall create a roadside viewing platform from which the glacier is visible.
Stevens Canyon Road Contributing Structures
Stevens Canyon Road
Date Constructed: 1931-1957
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
The road is 21.2 miles long and spans the south side of the park, connecting the Nisqually-Paradise Road on the west to the Eastside Highway/SR123. Although planned, designed, and partially constructed during the historic period, construction was interrupted by WWII and did not finish until 1957 following the original plans. The road’s period of significance is 1906-1957, broadly incorporating the rustic period of development in the park.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
A masonry-veneered, reinforced concrete rigid frame bridge with five arched girders. It represents the transition in park bridges from reinforced concrete arches to arched girder designs.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Also known as the Box Canyon Bridge, this is a reinforced concrete-filled, spandrel arch bridge with a masonry veneer. 160 feet long, 41 feet wide. Although built after World War II, it employs the same construction, typical dimensions, and native granite veneer of the earlier bridges found in the park.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Located 100 feet west of the Muddy Fork Cowlitz River Bridge, this tunnel was bored through 160 feet of solid rock and is the second of two tunnels along Stevens Canyon Road. The tunnel walls and portals were not covered with masonry but left as bare rock. While built after World War II, the tunnel is considered consistent with earlier park road structures in the historic district.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Reinforced concrete-filled, spandrel arch bridge with a masonry veneer, similar to the Muddy Fork Cowlitz River Bridge. It was the last bridge of this style built in the park. 150 feet long, 34 feet wide.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Also known as State Route (SR) 123, this 13-8-mile-long road connects the park’s southeast entrance near Ohanapecosh to the Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410) at Cayuse Pass and was the first north-south connection through the park. Its period of significance is 1931-1941, reflecting the NPS-coordinated design and construction of the road. As the road approaches Cayuse Pass, some retaining walls are 25 feet high, among the highest in the park.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Reinforced concrete arch bridge with masonry veneer. The stepped, concrete abutments are also veneered and rest on solid stone foundations. The abutments create stepped pylons that project beyond the “face line” of the bridge and give it a distinct character. 268 feet long, 39 feet wide.
Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410) Contributing Structures
Mather Memorial Parkway/SR410
Date Constructed: 1916-1932
Builder: Washington State Department of Highways
Also known as State Route (SR) 410, this 60-mile road continues into adjacent national forests past park boundaries. The portion within the park is included in the National Historic District and consists of an 11.6-mile segment between Chinook Pass and the northeast park boundary. It was dedicated to Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, in 1932. Its period of significance is from 1919-1940, reflecting its design and construction.
Builder: National Park Service/Civilian Conservation Corps
Serves as an entrance arch as well as a pedestrian overpass for the Pacific Crest Trail. It is 90 feet long and the deck of the bridge rests on two cedar logs, 36 inches in diameter with two more 30-inch-diameter logs serving as guard walls, set into stone abutments that use stones gathered from the roadsides. The deteriorating original logs were replaced in 2012 with near-identical logs, using traditional carving methods to match the original style.
Mather Memorial Parkway (SR410) Contributing Object
Stone Marker
Date Constructed: 1940
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
A stone marker for Mather Memorial Parkway at the junction with White River/Sunrise Road (Yakima Highway).
White River/Sunrise Road (Yakima Park Highway) Contributing Structures
Yakima Park Highway
Date Constructed: 1927-1931
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Also known as Sunrise Road and White River Road, this 15.5-mile-long road leaves the Mather Memorial Parkway to travel west to the White River Entrance, includes a spur road to the White River Campground, then climbs steeply up Sunrise Ridge in long switchbacks to Yakima Park at 6,400 feet. This is the highest point in the park road system. The period of significance is 1927-1941, when the road was designed and constructed by the NPS. The CCC continued to improve the road corridor with revegetation efforts in the 1930s.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
Reinforced concrete-filled spandrel arch girder bridge, veneered in granite masonry. Of the bridges in the park of this type, this is the longest at 180 feet. 35 feet wide, with a clear span of 90 feet.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
An unusual, three-hinged arch bridge with solid web arch girders. The abutments and spandrel walls are veneered in masonry. 127 feet-long arch span, 28 feet wide.
Builder: Bureau of Public Roads/National Park Service
This six-mile-long road is an unpaved spur road in the northwest corner of the park. It is a discontiguous portion of the historic district due to the decision not to complete the Westside Road all the way across the west edge of the park. Its period of significance covers its construction from 1929-1934. Original features along the road from this time period include one stone retaining wall and 39 rustic culverts with mortared stone headwalls.
Like Mowich Lake Road, this five-mile-long spur road is a discontiguous portion of the historic district. Surveyed in 1915 and built in 1921-24 prior to the involvement of the Bureau of Public Roads, it is the only road in the park built entirely by the National Park Service. Its period of significance is from 1915-1941, reflecting the period when the NPS designed and constructed the road, including CCC maintenance and development. It has been affected by floods many times in its history and was finally closed to vehicles after the November 2006 Flood caused significant damage.
