Historic Sunrise Road Exhibit Panel

The Historic Sunrise Road exhibit panel is on the east side of Sunrise Point.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

East side of Sunrise Point, which is located 7.4 miles up the Sunrise Road from the White River Campground wye.

Amenities

3 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Scenic View/Photo Spot

Title: A Road With a View

Main Text
Historic Sunrise Road, completed in 1929, represents a unique approach to road and site planning. Part of Mount Rainier's master plan, its state-of-the-art design took advantage of the scenery and protected the landscape. Built by several road contractors, the road displays their craftmanship in its rustic, natural stone guardrails, handsome bridges and scenic turnouts. Designed by a National Park Service Landscape Architect, the road runs along a canyon rim to avoid cutting through fragile meadows. Its long, easy curves provide unobstructed views of the Emmons Glacier and the surrounding scenery.

Secondary Text
Mount Rainier's master plan was the first National Park Service master plan to be developed, and it greatly influenced those of other parks. More than 100 miles of roads, including the Sunrise Road, were part of this plan. The entire road was designed to fit with the landscape before workers struck a single blade on the ground.

Exhibit Panel Description
A single historic photo of a road under construction stretches across the width of the exhibit panel. A rock wall supports the right side of the road and curved viewpoint, while the left side of the area is filled with piles of debris and several old-fashioned dump trucks with beds raised up to dump material. In the distance, a glaciated mountain peak rises up above the construction site. The main text stretches across the top fourth of the photo. On the right side of the exhibit panel, a slightly-angled inset black-and-white photo shows a row of workers with shovels shaping a hillside and ditch next to a dirt road. A caption under the photo reads "To heal the scars caused by road construction, the Civilian Conservation Corps planted native vegetation." A small box in the lower right corner of the panel reads "User Fee Project. Your Fee Dollars at Work. Entrance fees were used to produce this exhibit".
 

Visit This Exhibit Panel
The Historic Sunrise Road exhibit panel is located on a low rock wall on the eastern edge of a pullout at Sunrise Point along the Sunrise Road. The panel looks west over Sunrise Point towards Mount Rainier. Sunrise Road is open to vehicles during the summer, typically from early July to September.