Last updated: August 16, 2024
Place
Longmire Community Building Viewpoint
NPS/M. Meitle Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Longmire
Amenities
4 listed
Benches/Seating, Parking - Auto, Picnic Table, Scenic View/Photo Spot
Season: Year-Round
The Longmire Community Building is located in Longmire on the east side of the Nisqually River. If entering Longmire from the Nisqually Entrance, drive past the National Park Inn, and turn right at the two-story building with the flagpole. Continue straight through the employee housing area and across the historic Nisqually Suspension Bridge over the Nisqually River. Follow the road along the river to a large wood building with a small parking lot. NOTE: The Nisqually Suspension Bridge has a weight limit of 3 tons (6,000 pounds or 2721 kilograms). Vehicles over this weight limit CANNOT cross the bridge, including recreational vehicles (campers/trailers/motorhomes), maintenance trucks, box trucks, and medium trucks/SUVs pulling campers or trailers. Large trucks/SUVS can exceed the weight limit even without trailers. If your vehicle cannot cross the bridge, park in the main Longmire parking area near the National Park Inn and cross the bridge on foot.
The Longmire Community Building area includes a picnic table and a small parking lot next to the Nisqually River. Fed by the Nisqually Glacier, the braided riverbed is filled with large glacier boulders. The view up the valley is one of the best views of Mount Rainier in the Longmire area. The Rampart Ridge lava flow appears as a forested hillside with dark stone cliffs to the lower left of the mountain.
The historic Longmire Community Building is visible on the opposite side of the parking area. Closed to the public, the community building served as the social activity center at Longmire for many years. Constructed in 1927, the architect Thomas Vint used materials from inside the park whenever possible to achieve the famous "NPS rustic" style of architecture. Standing in front of the Longmire Community Building, you can clearly see how the rock foundations of the historic building match the rounded boulders of the Nisqually River. National Park Service buildings are designed to integrate into the scenery. Keep an eye out for NPS rustic construction elsewhere at Longmire and throughout Mount Rainier National Park.
The Mount Rainier Valor Memorial is located a 50-foot walk south past the Longmire Community building across the gravel road. This cluster of stone pillars memorializes the park employees who have given their lives to save others at Mount Rainier National Park.
The Longmire Community Building is still used by federal employees for meetings, lectures, and training classes at Mount Rainier National Park. It is possible for the 16-space parking lot to be unexpectedly full when you visit.
The Longmire Community Building is located in Longmire on the east side of the Nisqually River. If entering Longmire from the Nisqually Entrance, drive past the National Park Inn, and turn right at the two-story building with the flagpole. Continue straight through the employee housing area and across the historic Nisqually Suspension Bridge over the Nisqually River. Follow the road along the river to a large wood building with a small parking lot. NOTE: The Nisqually Suspension Bridge has a weight limit of 3 tons (6,000 pounds or 2721 kilograms). Vehicles over this weight limit CANNOT cross the bridge, including recreational vehicles (campers/trailers/motorhomes), maintenance trucks, box trucks, and medium trucks/SUVs pulling campers or trailers. Large trucks/SUVS can exceed the weight limit even without trailers. If your vehicle cannot cross the bridge, park in the main Longmire parking area near the National Park Inn and cross the bridge on foot.
The Longmire Community Building area includes a picnic table and a small parking lot next to the Nisqually River. Fed by the Nisqually Glacier, the braided riverbed is filled with large glacier boulders. The view up the valley is one of the best views of Mount Rainier in the Longmire area. The Rampart Ridge lava flow appears as a forested hillside with dark stone cliffs to the lower left of the mountain.
The historic Longmire Community Building is visible on the opposite side of the parking area. Closed to the public, the community building served as the social activity center at Longmire for many years. Constructed in 1927, the architect Thomas Vint used materials from inside the park whenever possible to achieve the famous "NPS rustic" style of architecture. Standing in front of the Longmire Community Building, you can clearly see how the rock foundations of the historic building match the rounded boulders of the Nisqually River. National Park Service buildings are designed to integrate into the scenery. Keep an eye out for NPS rustic construction elsewhere at Longmire and throughout Mount Rainier National Park.
The Mount Rainier Valor Memorial is located a 50-foot walk south past the Longmire Community building across the gravel road. This cluster of stone pillars memorializes the park employees who have given their lives to save others at Mount Rainier National Park.
The Longmire Community Building is still used by federal employees for meetings, lectures, and training classes at Mount Rainier National Park. It is possible for the 16-space parking lot to be unexpectedly full when you visit.