Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at Paradise

Please note, the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at Paradise is closed in 2021.

This winter during the weekends, visitors can find an outdoor information station posted near the visitor center entrance with a park staff person to help answer intermittent questions throughout the day.

There’s a reason this section of Mount Rainier National Park is amply named Paradise.

When James Longmire’s daughter-in-law, Martha, first saw the natural beauty of the site, she exclaimed, “Oh, what a paradise!” The visitor center at Paradise, the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center, is the main visitor center for the national park. The building is easy to find, welcoming visitors from the upper parking area. This area of the park is open year-round. There’s something to see and experience in all our seasons.

Considered one of the snowiest places on earth, during the winter we can see an average of 643 inches (53.6 feet/16.3 meters) of snow a year near the visitor center. Winter activities include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and sledding. The road between Longmire and Paradise is plowed but closes at night during the winter.

See the current Road Status for updated information about park roads. Paradise is located 19 miles (30 km) east of the Nisqually Entrance and 12 miles (19 km) east of Longmire.