Cougar Rock Developed Area: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park
Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program and Architectural Resources Group. 2022. Cougar Rock Developed Area: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Mount Rainier National Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 976215. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Cougar Rock Developed Area is located in the southeast corner of Pierce County in Washington State, approximately 14 miles east of Ashford, Washington, and in the southwest portion of Mount Rainier National Park. Centered around the iconic namesake active volcano, Mount Rainier National Park covers over 236,000 acres in the Cascade Mountains, the vast majority of which are designated as preserved wilderness. In addition to the mountain and its alpine glacial environment, the park boasts a variety of subalpine ecosystems, including dense old growth forests, subalpine meadows, and glacial valleys associated with several significant watersheds, including the Paradise, Cowlitz, Nisqually, Puyallup, and White rivers. Cougar Rock Developed Area is located in the southwestern portion of the park, on the southern slopes of Mt. Rainier in the Nisqually River Valley, approximately 8.5 miles from the Nisqually Entrance and two miles from the Longmire Historic District. The developed area straddles Nisqually to Paradise Road, with Cougar Rock Campground and an associated ranger station on the west side of the road, and Cougar Rock Picnic Area to the east. Largely constructed between 1962 and 1964, under the auspices of the Mission 66 development plan for Mount Rainier National Park, Cougar Rock Developed Area is a good, intact example of National Park Service (NPS) Mission 66-era campground and day-use area development within the park. Elements associated with this period of development include the ranger station, the campground and its six loops of individual and group campsites (Loops A-F), the day-use picnic area, nine individual comfort stations, a fire hose house, and much of the infrastructure, including internal circulation and surface parking.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program; Architectural Resources Group
- Date of Issue
- 2022-09-29
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- MORA , PWR
- Keywords
- amphitheater, campground, camping, day use, entertainment, mission 66, outdoor, park service modern, picnic area, recreation, site design
- Subjects
- NPS.gov Subject Site: Cultural Landscapes , CRIS-CL: 976215: Cougar Rock Developed Area