Grove of the Patriarchs Pedestrian Bridge Replacement and Trail Construction

The National Park Service (NPS) in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, Western Federal Lands Highway Division (FHWA), proposes to construct a new pedestrian bridge and trail to restore safe access to the Grove of the Patriarchs in Mount Rainier National Park. The project is located in a valley along the Ohanapecosh River in the southeast corner of the park.

The original pedestrian bridge was severely damaged by flooding in 2021, cutting off access to the awe-inspiring grove of ancient trees. Because the original bridge site is susceptible to bed scour and erosion due to river migration, the NPS and FHWA propose relocating the bridge about half a mile south of the original location, where the abutments would be constructed on bedrock material. The proposed suspension bridge would be approximately 215 feet long—about double the length of the original structure—and elevated 35 to 40 feet above the riverbed. A new trail, approximately half a mile long, would be constructed to connect the new bridge location to the Grove of the Patriarchs.

Please see project StoryMap under "links" and Public Open House Display Boards under "document list" for more information.