Beautiful visitor center, compared to other National Parks we were pleasantly surprised. They had 3 rangers working the information desk, plus a theatre and gift store upstairs. Restrooms were clean and fairly modern. We had lunch, the selection was limited, but they had hot food, bagged snacks, a cooler full of ice cream and several drink options. The prices weren’t bad considering the location on top of a mountain. Best thing was our table was at the window with an unobstructed view of Mt Rainier. Outside there are trails leading to even more incredible views on a clear day.

Paradise is the premier visiting place with the best access to the mountain and the Henry Jackson Center is a relatively newly constructed facility for the Paradise VC. The building is a 2 story facility with information, souvenirs and restrooms. In addition it has a plaza area gathering space where people can meet before climbing the mountain or the Skyline Loop. From this area you can get great views of the surrounding Tatoosh Range and Rainier itself when it actually presents itself.

This is a really nice, BIG visitor center, and I think my only complaint is that it was insanely crowded (not even the weekend and not even a holiday!) and it was a bit overheated. There are some nice displays about the volcano on the second floor. First floor is where you can get information and your national park passport stamps. Second floor has an extensive gift shop (with a Disney-long line). First floor also has a cafe that wasn't open yet when we visited. I think the real draw here is that from the visitor center parking lot or parking lots nearby, you can access quite a popular trails like Skyline and Nisqually Ridge.