Paradise, Washington

Paradise is the name of an area at approximately 5,400 feet (1,600 m) on the south slope of Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, United States. The area lies on the border of Pierce and Lewis counties and includes the Paradise Valley and the Paradise Glacier which is the source of the Paradise River.[1] Virinda Longmire named Paradise in the summer of 1885 while she viewed the wildflowers in the alpine meadows there.[2][3] Paradise also offers views of Mount Rainier and the Tatoosh Range.[4]

For the historic hotel, see Paradise Inn (Washington).
Paradise
Unincorporated community
Hikers and wildflowers along the Paradise River near its source
Paradise
Location within the state of Washington
Coordinates: 46°47′9.03″N 121°44′15.43″W
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyPierce
Elevation
5,400 ft (1,600 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)

Tourism and history

Paradise is the most popular destination for visitors to Mount Rainier National Park.[3] 62% of the over 1.3 million people who visited the park in 2000 went to Paradise.[5] The road from the Nisqually entrance of the National Park to Paradise (State Route 706) is one of the few roads in the park open to automobiles in the winter.

Paradise is the location of the historic Paradise Inn (built 1916),[6] Paradise Guide House (built 1920) and Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center (built 1966; replaced 2008; original building demolished 2009).[7] The inn is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The historic center of Paradise was designated the Paradise Historic District.[8]

In 1931, a golf course was built in the area and in 1936 a ski rope tow was installed. These were both added as facilities for use by the guests of the inn.[6] From 1942 to 1943 the U.S. Army used the inn to house troops training for winter mountain conditions.[6]

Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center.

The National Park Service undertook a two-year, $30 million project to perform renovations and structural work to allow the inn withstand a large earthquake and to replace the "flying saucer-shaped"[3] Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center with a new building of the same name complementing the historic lodge. The inn re-opened in 2008, along with the new visitor center. The old visitor center was demolished in 2009.[9][10]

Panorama of Paradise from Skyline Trail. The visitor center, inn, and parking lot are visible near the right side. Mount Adams is visible in the distance.

Climate

The National Park Service says that "Paradise is the snowiest place on Earth where snowfall is measured regularly."[11] 1,122 inches (93.5 ft, 28.5 m) of snow fell during the winter of 1971-1972, setting a world record at the time. The minimum annual snowfall at Paradise was 266 inches in the winter of 2014-15, and the maximum snowpack was 367 inches (30.6 ft, 9.3 m) in March, 1956. No snowfall measurements were made from 1943 to 1946 as the road to Paradise was closed during World War II.[11][12] The high snowfall is in spite of no month recording average highs below freezing. Under the Köppen climate classification Paradise has a subpolar oceanic climate that may also be described as subarctic or subalpine.

Climate data for Paradise (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 65
(18)		 62
(17)		 70
(21)		 78
(26)		 88
(31)		 86
(30)		 87
(31)		 94
(34)		 89
(32)		 88
(31)		 78
(26)		 66
(19)		 94
(34)
Average high °F (°C) 34.9
(1.6)		 35.7
(2.1)		 37.9
(3.3)		 42.1
(5.6)		 49.3
(9.6)		 54.7
(12.6)		 63.3
(17.4)		 64.5
(18.1)		 58.1
(14.5)		 47.9
(8.8)		 37.3
(2.9)		 33.8
(1.0)		 46.6
(8.1)
Average low °F (°C) 22.5
(−5.3)		 22.1
(−5.5)		 23.7
(−4.6)		 25.9
(−3.4)		 31.8
(−0.1)		 36.2
(2.3)		 42.7
(5.9)		 43.9
(6.6)		 39.7
(4.3)		 32.3
(0.2)		 24.7
(−4.1)		 21.1
(−6.1)		 30.6
(−0.8)
Record low °F (°C) −13
(−25)		 −18
(−28)		 −2
(−19)		 2
(−17)		 13
(−11)		 13
(−11)		 20
(−7)		 26
(−3)		 18
(−8)		 2
(−17)		 −11
(−24)		 −20
(−29)		 −20
(−29)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 18.24
(463)		 12.69
(322)		 12.56
(319)		 8.30
(211)		 5.89
(150)		 4.11
(104)		 1.95
(50)		 1.97
(50)		 4.71
(120)		 10.43
(265)		 20.28
(515)		 17.17
(436)		 118.3
(3,005)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 118.7
(301)		 91.6
(233)		 90.6
(230)		 67.5
(171)		 26.1
(66)		 5.6
(14)		 0.3
(0.76)		 0.1
(0.25)		 1.4
(3.6)		 24.1
(61)		 120.9
(307)		 124.0
(315)		 670.9
(1,702.61)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 21.1 17.8 21.5 18.8 15.4 12.8 7.3 6.6 9.6 15.0 21.7 21.1 188.7
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 18.5 15.9 19.5 14.4 7.9 2.5 0.2 0.0 0.7 6.2 16.6 19.0 121.4
Source 1: NOAA (normals, 1981–2010)[13]
Source 2: Western Regional Climate Center (extremes 1916–present)[14]

References
  1. Mt. Rainier National Park (Map) (Centennial ed.). 1 : 30,000. Cartography by Charles B. Kitterman / Kulshan Cartographic Services. Stanley Maps. 2000. ISBN 0-9662209-4-3.
  2. Haines, Aubrey L. (1999) [1962]. Mountain fever:historic conquests of Rainier. Original publisher: Oregon Historical Society; Republished by University of Washington. pp. 81. ISBN 0-295-97847-3.
  3. Pitcher, Don (June 12, 2002). Moon Handbooks Washington. Moon Handbooks (7th ed.). Avalon Travel Publishing. pp. 615–616. ISBN 1-56691-386-1.
  4. "Building isn't quite paradise. Eugene Register-Guard, June 14, 1999. Accessed on July 15, 2011, from Google News Archive.
  5. "Mount Rainier National Park Visitor Study Brochure" (PDF). Visitor Services Project. National Park Service. March 31, 2003. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  6. Barnes, Christine (April 2002). Great Lodges of the National Parks: The Companion Book to the PBS Television Series. Photography by Pfulghoft, Fred; Morris, David. W W West. pp. 48–57. ISBN 0-9653924-5-7.
  7. "Mt. Rainier National Park Centennial Timeline 1960s". Mount Rainier National Park Centennial Celebration. National Park Service. 1999. Retrieved 2007-05-22. 1966: The Paradise Visitor Center (in 1987 dedicated as the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center), is opened to the public in September.
  8. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  9. Carlton Harrell, Debera (October 11, 2005). "Mount Rainier's Paradise Inn to undergo a two-year face-lift". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  10. Renée Casavant, Vanessa (September 8, 2005). "Paradise Inn to close for two years". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  11. "Mount Rainier National Park - Frequently Asked Questions (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service. created August 4, 2005 modified January 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-22. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. "Annual Snowfall at Paradise 1920 to 2002" (PDF). National Park Service. January 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  13. "WA Rainier Paradise RS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  14. "RAINIER PARADISE RNG, WASHINGTON". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved March 2, 2015.

Bibliography
  • Wilfred Schmoe, Floyd (July 1999) [1959]. A Year in Paradise: A Personal Experience of Living on Mount Rainier in the Early 1900s (2nd ed.). Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0-89886-653-7.
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