03/25/2025 The Paradise Road is open to Longmire. All vehicles, including 4WD and AWD, must carry tire chains and be ready to use them. The road is projected to re-open Friday 03/28 at 9:00 AM but is subject to change, check back for updates. More
Explore the diverse forests of Mount Rainier National Park.
NPS Photo
Exploring the forests of Mount Rainier National Park is like traveling back in time. Before Mount Rainier became a national park, visitors traveled by horse or foot for miles through thick forests and tangled undergrowth to reach the mountain. You can still walk among these trees, enjoying the grandness of the forests that once covered the mountains and lowlands of western Washington.
The forests of Mount Rainier are a significant natural resource. They extend up the mountain slopes to elevations above 6,000 feet (above 1,800 meters) and occupy approximately 58% of the park landscape. In the lower forest, see the giant stands of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar towering above you with low-growing, shade-tolerant plants brushing your ankles. Higher up on the slopes of Mount Rainier the forests open up into tree islands of subalpine fir and mountain hemlock, surrounded by wildflower meadows.
Most of the trees in Mount Rainier National Park are evergreen conifers, keeping their needle-like leaves year-round. Only a few trees in the park are deciduous, losing their leaves in the fall. The best places to view low-elevation forests are Carbon River, Nisqually Entrance to Longmire, and Ohanapecosh. The Paradise, Sunrise, and Tipsoo Lake areas are good locations to see the open subalpine forests.
Sites:Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park
Despite dire evidence of rising tree death, researchers found resilience and hope deep inside western Washington's forests. But it will take 21st-century monitoring methods to keep that hope alive.
A network of 18 permanent plots in Mount Rainier National Park is being monitored to provide data on long-term trends in mature and old-growth forests.
Sites:North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network, North Coast and Cascades Research Learning Center, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park
JANUARY 2023 – Pacific Northwest forests are vital living systems, cycling huge quantities of carbon and nutrients, filtering pollutants from waterways, and serving as a living bulwark against climate change. However, forests worldwide are threatened by increasing warming and drought, leading to tree die-offs. A new study asks the question: Is this pattern playing out in the mature and old-growth forests of western Washington?
Sites:Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park
MAY 2018 – Whitebark pine is a five-needle pine that grows in high-elevation ecosystems in Western North America. It can be found in three national parks within the North Coast and Cascades Network. Today, its long-term survival is threatened by an introduced fungus, blister rust, and the native mountain pine beetle. To better understand how to protect the trees, the Network established study plots in eight stands in Mount Rainier and five stands in North Cascades in 2004.
Sites:Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park
North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park, and Mount Rainier National Park will build a collaborative network and internal capacity to identify seed source trees, collect and curate seeds from whitebark pine and other 5-needle pine species.
Sites:Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Greater Yellowstone Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network, National Capital Inventory & Monitoring Network, North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Inventory & Monitoring Network, Northeast Temperate Inventory & Monitoring Network, Pacific Island Inventory & Monitoring Network, Rocky Mountain Inventory & Monitoring Network, Sierra Nevada Inventory & Monitoring Network, Acadia National Park, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Antietam National Battlefield, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Bluestone National Scenic River, Booker T Washington National Monument, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Colonial National Historical Park, Crater Lake National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Devils Postpile National Monument, Eisenhower National Historic Site, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Gauley River National Recreation Area, George Washington Memorial Parkway, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park, Grand Teton National Park, Haleakalā National Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park, Minute Man National Historical Park, Monocacy National Battlefield, Morristown National Historical Park, Mount Rainier National Park, National Capital Parks-East, New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park, Petersburg National Battlefield, Prince William Forest Park, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Rock Creek Park, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Saratoga National Historical Park, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Thomas Stone National Historic Site, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Weir Farm National Historical Park, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Parkmore »
From coast to coast, the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division is helping park managers improve the health and function of forest ecosystems. From promoting resilient forests in the Northeast, to conserving whitebark pine in the West, to protecting Hawaiian forest birds from avian malaria, scientific partnerships are helping parks to share information, leverage funding sources, and work together for outcomes that extend beyond what any park could accomplish on its own.
Sites:Wildland Fire Program, Bandelier National Monument, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Chiricahua National Monument, City Of Rocks National Reserve, Crater Lake National Park, Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve, Curecanti National Recreation Area, El Malpais National Monument, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Glacier National Park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Great Basin National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Olympic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve, Point Reyes National Seashore, Redwood National and State Parks, Saguaro National Park, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Parkmore »
Douglas fir is widely distributed throughout the western United States, as well as southern British Columbia and northern Mexico. Douglas fir is able to survive without fire, its abundantly-produced seeds are lightweight and winged, allowing the wind to carry them to new locations where seedlings can be established.
A study of the interaction of climate change and competition in the establishment and growth of three common tree species at Mount Rainier; western hemlock, mountain hemlock and Pacific silver fir.
