Mt. Rainier Viewpoints

As an outdoor equipment associate at Whittaker Mountaineering, I have worked with many people that have traveled to visit Mt. Rainier National park. This summer, Mt. Rainier instituted a reservation system that requires people to have a reserved time to get into the park during peak hours. Through my work at Whittakers, I have seen that many people come to the park without knowing this and are then unable to enter until mid-afternoon. In these situations, I often have people ask me if there is anywhere they can drive to to just see the mountain. For a while I would just give them verbal directions to a few places I knew. But after a while I decided I should create a map that people can use to find viewpoints of the mountain.

To start the map, I used ArcGIS Field Maps to create a feature layer that I was able to add points to. I then collected data on forest service roads outside of the Nisqually entrance of the National Park. From here I took the feature layer and combined it with WSDOT road information as well as a few other datasets and  used it to create a map layout of viewpoints in the area. The goal for this map is to help people find the views of the mountain they are looking for. I formatted this map so that it can be printed out and given to people that come into Whittaker Mountaineering.