Across the Nisqually River from the main Longmire complex, and past the Eagle Peak Saddle trailhead, lies the Longmire Stewardship Campground. This used to be a car campground but was closed to the public in 1989. Camping here is reserved for seasonal employees of the National Park, official volunteers doing work in the park, and Nisqually Tribal Members. The historic Community Building is also now closed to the public, but still used by federal employees for meetings and training classes.

Visiting in summer would be kind of a dick move because you'd be intruding on others (volunteer for the park if you want to camp here!) but in winter it's a delightfully quiet place to snowshoe.

Most of the elevation gain shown above comes from following an unmarked service road that I cannot find on any maps. It starts immediately past the Community Building, heading east and uphill for 0.3 miles to a pair of tanks which I believe are the water supply for Longmire. You may notice another path going south from the tanks, but don't follow this even if the snow is deep enough to have buried the sign stating domestic water supply: keep out :-)

For more distance you could continue down Forest Road NF 5230-012 from the campground to the National Park boundary (not shown on the map above). This road is a spur off of NF 5230, which in turn is a spur off NF 52 aka Skate Creek Road which connects Ashford to Packwood.

The Valor Memorial is located near the Community Building. Seven basalt columns commemorate those who lost their lives while serving at Mount Rainier National Park:

• Rangers Phil Otis and Sean Ryan died in August 1995 while rescuing an injured climber on the Winthrop Glacier.
• Ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed in January 2012 after intercepting a vehicle that failed to stop at a tire chain checkpoint. Her actions protected many lives by preventing the gunman from reaching Paradise on a busy day.
• Ranger Nick Hall died in June 2012 during a rescue on the Emmons Glacier.