Paradise Historic Tour: Paradise Inn

Historic photo of the Paradise Inn

Mount Rainier National Park Archives

Quick Facts

Location:

Paradise

Significance:

National Historic Landmark

Designation:

Contributes to the Paradise Historic District

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The Paradise Inn is open generally from late May through September. This historic building, which opened in 1917, allows people to take photos of historic architecture, enjoy a meal in the dining room, or just relax and enjoy the stately lobby. The inn features 121 rooms for overnight guests. Rooms do not include modern amenities such as internet, telephone, and television. A gift shop, café, and dining room are all located within the Paradise Inn. Guests are invited to imagine an earlier time when life was simple without the distractions of today’s modern world.

The lure of Paradise has drawn people to the slopes of Mount Rainier for millennia. Local tribes like the Nisqually, Yakama, Puyallup, Cowlitz, and others, traveled to the Paradise meadows to hunt and gather. Early mountain climbers scaling the glaciers, used Paradise as a way stop. Paradise’s wildflower meadows also became a destination for some of the first tourists to the mountain. Before the creation of Mount Rainier National Park in 1899, people recognized a need for accommodations at Paradise. Construction of the Paradise Inn began the summer of 1916. Ground was broken on July 20, and most of the lobby, dining room, and rooms above the dining room, were completed that first summer. Opening on July 1, 1917, the inn had thirty-seven guest rooms and a dining room that could accommodate 400. Distinctive furnishing enhanced the lobby, including woodwork of the registration desk, two massive cedar tables and chairs, a mail drop “stump”, and cases for the 14 foot tall clock and the piano.

After World War I, enough guests were staying at the lodge that the company could start building again. The Paradise Inn Annex, once completed, more than doubled the size of the inn, providing 104 more guest rooms. Structural braces were added to the timbers to help with the extra stress of long winters. Time and weather have not been kind to the Paradise Inn. Mount Rainier National Park has worked to renovate the structure while maintaining the historical aspects that make the Paradise Inn a unique place to visit. With this work, the National Park Service hopes that future visitors will continue to see and enjoy the historic, rustic beauty of the Paradise Inn.

For audio description of the exhibit panel in this location, refer to Paradise Inn Exhibit Panel.