The Long Way
King County
A snow-capped mountain rises behind dark forested hills under a blue sky.
Plate I. Mount Rainier view, Mather Memorial Parkway. Photograph by Ron Clausen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cars driving on a wet road at sunset with sun rays shining down.
Plate II. Sunset drive on Mather Memorial Parkway. From fs.usda.gov
Rainy drive on Mather Memorial Parkway.
Plate III. Rainy drive on Mather Memorial Parkway. Photograph by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mather Memorial Parkway in the rain.
Plate IV. Mather Memorial Parkway in the rain. Photograph by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mather Memorial Parkway on a rainy day.
Plate V. Mather Memorial Parkway on a rainy day. Photograph by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mather Memorial Parkway on a rainy day.
Plate VI. Mather Memorial Parkway on a rainy day. Photograph by Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mather Memorial Parkway

Enumclaw, King County, Washington. National Scenic Byway.

Details

Map. Enumclaw, King County, Washington. Larger map
Where
450 Roosevelt Ave. E., Enumclaw, WA 98022. Directions
When
Both passes close each winter due to snow levels and avalanche danger and reopen in the spring after snow is cleared; the reopening was scheduled for 8 a.m. Friday, May 22, in time for Memorial Day weekend, per a WSDOT news release.
Getting there
This paved two-lane classic Cascades drive along Highway 410 from Enumclaw to the eastern edge of Mount Rainier National Park.
Hours
Enumclaw Office open Wednesdays and Fridays 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, closed for lunch (noon - 1:00 pm), closed on federal holidays.
Access
Most forest roads are unpaved and minimally maintained. Cell phones have limited coverage in the mountains. Check the Washington Department of Transportation (WDOT) website for current conditions.
Phone
(360) 825 - 6585
Website
fs.usda.gov
Managed by
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Established
Created in 1931.

Mather Memorial Parkway Created in 1931, this paved two-lane classic Cascades drive along Highway 410 from Enumclaw to the eastern edge of Mount Rainier National Park presents majestic views of Mount Rainier and surrounding peaks.

Notable Events

  1. 1907Hiram M. Chittenden proposed a road around the east side of Mount Rainier to improve access and use of the national park. npshistory.com
  2. 1913Washington began building the highway from Auburn through Enumclaw toward Yakima to link eastern and western Washington through the Cascades. npshistory.com
  3. 1925Washington completed the McClellan Pass Highway to the White River Ranger Station and renamed it the Naches Pass Highway. npshistory.com
  4. 1928After Stephen Mather emphasized the need for a scenic corridor, NPS collaborated with the Bureau of Public Roads using NPS design standards. npshistory.com
  5. 1930Asahel Curtis recommended renaming the Cascades Highway for Stephen Mather's work to preserve the route's scenery. npshistory.com
  6. 1932The designation provided the park's first road access from eastern Washington. nps.gov
  7. 1932Formal dedication ceremonies were held July 2 at Tipsoo Lake and a bronze plaque honoring Stephen Mather was unveiled. npshistory.com
  8. 1997The district containing the historic road was designated for early NPS master planning and naturalistic landscape architecture. npshistory.com

People

  • Arthur M. Hyde, Secretary of Agriculture who set aside Forest Service land along the parkway.
  • Asahel Curtis, Recommended renaming the Cascades Highway Mather Memorial Parkway.
  • Hiram M. Chittenden, Proposed the Around-the-Mountain road and introduced the circuit-road idea.
  • Horace M. Albright, National Park Service Director who prompted the Interior Secretary's parkway proclamation.
  • Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior who proclaimed the highway section inside Mount Rainier National Park as Mather Memorial Parkway.
  • Stephen T. Mather, First Director of the National Park Service and namesake of the scenic motorway.

Sources

  1. fs.usda.gov/r06/mbs/recreation/mather-memorial-parkway-sr-410
  2. wsdot.wa.gov/about/news/2026/sr-410-chinook-and-sr-123-cayuse-passes-scheduled-reopen-may-22
  3. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Rainier_from_Highway_410.jpg
  4. nps.gov/mora/learn/historyculture/historic-roads-and-other-structures.htm
  5. nps.gov/places/longmire-transportation-exhibit-timeline.htm
  6. npshistory.com/publications/mora/cli-mather-pkwy-2007.pdf
  7. revisitwa.org/waypoint/mather-memorial-parkway
  8. npshistory.com/publications/mora/haer-wa-125.pdf