Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Washington
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
5.3 h fully dark
Hikes
Easy
🟢
Crowds
low
Entrance
Free entry
Phone Lines Currently Down
The Whitman Mission NHS phone lines are currently down. If you need to contact us, please email whmi_interpretation. For field trip scheduling, please email whmi_education@nps.gov
One moment can change the fate of many nations. After thousands of years of habitation by the Cayuse Nation, life in the Columbia River Plateau begins to change rapidly with the influx of missionaries, newcomers from the Oregon Trail, and diseases. A single violent act of desperation to protect a community ignites a series of events that will reshape the United States forever.
Activities
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
The grounds and trails at Whitman Mission National Historic Site are open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Hours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 5095226360
✉ whmi_interpretation@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 91°F
☀️ 94°/59°
☀️ 95°/65°
☁️ 99°/65°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
34%
Feb
32%
Mar
63%
Apr
76%
May
100%
Jun
75%
Jul
69%
Aug
54%
Sep
76%
Oct
56%
Nov
36%
Dec
27%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Programs at Whitman Mission NHS · Ranger programs vary between 30 minutes and 60 minutes depending on the ranger, group size and the type of program
Whitman Mission NHS Audio Tour · Each stop is between 1 and 3 minutes each, with walking time in between each location. The full walking distance is around 1 mile roundtrip.
Watch A Prophecy Fulfilled
🟢 Walk the Trails and Tour the Mission Grounds · The Mission Grounds Loop is .5 mile long and can be completed in 15 minutes for a quick visit. Additional trails are available for a longer visit.
Picnic at Whitman Mission
Visit the Whitman Mission Museum
Visitor centers
Whitman Mission Visitor Center
Accessibility
2 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Whitman Mission National Historic Site — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Whitman Mission National Historic Site — each spans a cross-park journey.
Eliza Spalding
— Abcfm, Missionary, ReligionHenry Spalding
— Mission, Abcfm, ReligionMarcus Whitman
— Whitman Mission, Whitman Mission National Historic Site, MissionNarcissa Whitman
— Abcfm, Missionary, ReligionWilliam Drummond Stewart
— Fur Trade, Exploration, FortWilliam Gray
— Mission, Missionary, Westward ExpansionPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Whitman Mission Visitor Center
Places to see
Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company's Honolulu Agency
Native Plant Garden
Reconstructed Oregon Trail at Whitman Mission
The Blacksmith Shop at Weyíiletpe
The Emigrant House
The Great Grave
The Gristmill at Weyíiletpe
The Indian Room
The Mission House
The Whitman's First House
Whitman Mission National Historic Site Park Store
audioAudio & media
🎧 Trauma and Healing Audio Described ↗ · 4 mintranscript
🎧 A New Mission Audio Described ↗ · 3 mintranscript
🎧 More Information Audio Described ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 Newcomers Brochure Section Audio-Described ↗ · 3 mintranscript
🎧 Back Side of Brochure Audio Described ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 Front side of brochure Audio Described ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 Tamástslikt Cultural Institute Audio Described ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 New Dangers Audio Described ↗ · 2 mintranscript
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Learn more
Recipients of the 2007 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
Fissure volcanoes erupt from elongated vents (fissures) rather than a central vent. The lava flows in Craters of the Moon National Monument were erupted from fissures.
Maria Keawea Maki was among the Native Hawaiians who participated in nineteenth-century Anglo-led missionary efforts in Oregon Territory.
As part of the NPS "Your Park Story / My Park Story" initiative in 2023, Director Sams shares his own park story.
Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.
Most who followed the Oregon Trail did not traverse the Columbia River Gorge, if they could help it, because the gorge posed numerous dangers for travelers unfamiliar with the rugged terrain and raging river. When Samuel Barlow opened a road around the southern side of Mount Hood in 1846, overlanders going to Oregon City more often chose that route, rather than braving the Columbia River.
Week 1: Set the scene for your story. Explore primary sources and create your own record through the Primarily Me Challenge.
Week 2 is all about learning from each other through oral histories! Explore primary sources and create your own record through the Primarily Me challenge.
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
How Whitman Mission National Historic Site connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
Park
Activity
Topic
State
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
ThingToDo
Alert
Similar parks
Share activities & topics with Whitman Mission National Historic Site.
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Often planned together
Parks travelers add to the same trip as Whitman Mission National Historic Site.
