The Sunrise area has a long history of human use. Long before any modern developments, Native Americans from the Yakama Tribe camped, hunted, and gathered seeds and berries here. The Yakama name for this meadow, Mýawax̱-pah, indicated it was “the Chief place,” a favorite mountain haunt of the great chief, Owhi.

Look at Sunrise Lodge below. Can you see the grid pattern in the meadow behind the building? As development of the Sunrise area began, 215 summer cabins were located there, from 1931 until 1944. At this elevation natural regrowth of a damaged meadow is a long, slow process with a short growing season, as seen from the disrupted meadow below.