Sunrise Visitor Center

Great place. Cute gifts. There is a little deli to eat in. They rent out snowshoes. There are some museum like exhibits to look at. Worth checking out in my opinion

What an amazing viewpoint for Mt. Rainer and nearby valley areas. At 6,400 feet elevation, the cool summer, mountain air was very crisp and refreshing. This is a must stop for those desiring to see up close this massive 14,411 foot volcano outside of Seattle, Washington. The center is a beehive of activity. The help is outstanding and very capable.

Great area to see Mt. Rainier. The visitor center doesn’t open till mid July but there were still a variety of beautiful hikes, a place to buy snacks and a good restroom. Our favorite hike was to the lookout. Whether you plan on hiking or not it’s still a great place for views of the mountain and glaciers.

The visitor center has a snack bar for some quick to-go snacks along with coffee and a couple of soup options. Open on weekends from 9-5pm. Well maintained flush toilets. The visitor center also has some bunch of information on the volcano and the flora and fauna on the mountain. I prefer this visitor center when compared to Paradise since you have comparatively lesser crowd both at the center and on the trails and definitely closer views of Rainier.

It is a spot of heaven on earth! Mount Rainier is something to see in your lifetime.
Go out of your way to see the mountain/volcano. I'm still holding my breath...lol
Just stunning! The cost to get into park is by car, not individuals.

We visited the day before July 4th and the ranger at the entrance warned us that there may not be parking. We lucked out and got a parking. There was a ranger making room for extra parking spot. The Visitor Center was closed. We lucked out with beautiful weather, and Mount Rainier was prominent and spectacular from various angles. There were wildflowers and some snow. We hiked Sourdough Ridge Trail which provided panoramic view of the Cascade Crest Summits.

If you are planning to see sunrise, plan to come at least 1 hour early to sunrise . You need to hike at least 20 minutes to reach a place you have a good view . Secondly the pre sunrise rays are the one that makes rainier beautiful

Nicely located with well kept trails to hike. Great view surrounding area and clean restrooms for public use. To access park area for park showed $30.00 and is free for military

An absolute must when you go up to Mount Rainier! Take in the history and ask the Ranger about the mini hike and the mountain! I would recommend going around the building to take photos instead of against the glass of the building.

This is a very well kept visitor center with a great view of Mt. Rainier. The park rangers are nice and knowledgeable. Plenty of parking for compact and large vehicles. There's a variety of trails to take to get different views of Mt. Rainier. There's a bit of history posted around the visitor center. Friendly reminder to pack warm and prepared as nighttime can get chilly during the Summer and frigid during Fall and Winter into Spring.

A pinnacle of natural beauty! Mt. Rainier is an episodically active volcano, but don’t let that scare you. The drive up to Sunrise was beautiful, and the view of Rainier from the visitor center is already picture perfect. But we decided to hike up Sourdough trail. For some extra fun, bring headlamps and hike the trail near sunset. When it falls dark, the stars (and even Milky Way) are fully visible. It was nice of the park to not install lights in the parking lot, which made the sky even brighter.

If there's a place to experience Mt Rainier, it is the Sunrise visitor center. The extra 2 hours of driving from the South entrance is totally worth it! It is less crowded, and more peaceful, with a higher chance of seeing wildlife. We went up super early for the sunrise... (of course) and ended up seeing a fox, a black bear and marmots as a bonus!! The panoramas here are outstanding. And with mountains, you kinda need their blessings to get good weather conditions & experience the full grandeur they have to offer! Don't miss it for the world... put in the effort to go up to Sunrise Visitor center or better, stay there at the Lodge!

Lots of parking and great views.

They are main restrooms right at the entrance of the trails.
They are also restrooms just to the right of the snack bar.

This spot marks the beginning of many trails, and even if you do not want to hike and just hang around at the parking lot you get to see Mount Rainier as well as wild flowers when the season is in full swing.

This is also a firm favorite to do some astrophotography.

I would recommend walking up a little bit just so you can see the visitor center and the peaks a little bit more clearly with some depth.

This was the first year where I'd seen so much of snow right at the center!

Also the drive up here is gorgeous as well many pull-outs are available be careful when parking.

Enjoy!

I love it!! If you have never been to Mt.Rainier, then I 10/10 recommend. Especially if you enjoy hiking. I didn’t get very good pictures but it’s simply stunning.

Amazing views of the backside of Mt. Rainier!
We went on a hot and hazy day, and still made the most of it.
Very high in elevation, so hope you can get acclimated!
Did a loop to Frozen Lake and back to the visitor center, equivalent to 3ish miles. Lots of ridges, and loose rock and gravel, so please be careful with children.
No dogs on trails, so leave Buddy at home.
Enjoy these amazing views of mountains, valleys, and meadows.

We picked the right day to see Mount Rainier National Park. Beautiful blue sky, fabulous view of the glacier and a lovely hike through fields of wildflowers. The visitor center was great with friendly, helpful staff.

Stunning. It felt like a storybook view of the Alps. Seriously, so beautiful! They have bathrooms... though, at the time we went, were really dirty. Plan on bringing sanitizer. The picnic areas were great. The view, on a clear day, is spectacular.

Beautiful ! Pictures can never do justice to this place. Summer is the best time to visit and the wildflowers are starting to bloom now. We went on a clear day and witnessed the beauty of rainier.

We went there to watch the night sky and Milky Way one week after the new moon! Man, the view was just so beautiful! Parking lot was full of people trying to click pictures of the night sky with their DSLRs though!! That means too many cars, too many people and lots of headlights (which could potentially ruin the night shot haha)!! Worth the trip nonetheless!!

A ton of hiking from the parking lot with tons of crazy awesome views. I love waking around looking at the buildings and imagining what they must look like when they are covered with a crazy skiing of snow. Mt Rainier is such an amazing national park.