Mount Rainier National Park – Unwind And Get Inspired!
Majestic and soaring peaks have always mesmerized humans. They have always been a source of inspiration to mankind! We bet that Mount Rainier – 14,410 foot tall volcanic mountain will not only grip your attention but will take you through some intangible emotions during your visit!
There is such an immense natural beauty around the Park, that with every visit you will find something new to take back home!
On a clear summer day, you can notice steams coming from the summit of the peak. Surrounded by glaciers all around, Mount Rainier reminds us that it is still an active volcano. Glacier peaks, lakes, forests and rustic architecture all blend together with such harmony in this sub alpine region that this place will make you reminiscence all your favorite memories at once. Thus, taking you through a ethereal journey of exploration!
Mount Rainier National Park attracts a lot of visitors every year and especially during the summer months of July & August. Everyone visiting the park visits the Paradise Area of the Mt Rainier National Park. So maybe you can add a couple of other areas in your itinerary too, to avoid the crowds and experience the solitude and feel the sanctity that the Park has to offer!
Day 1
An important tip that we would like to share with everyone before going through our journey. Please consider the mountain weather while you are planning your adventure at Mount Rainier National park. The weather can be very unpredictable. Usually clouds tend to build up over the peaks around late in the afternoon. So plan to visit the Paradise & Sunrise areas in the morning to maximize your experience in the Park.
From Seattle we drove a couple of hours to the Nisqually Entrance. And we started our journey from the Longmire Area.
Longmire Museum
First stop was the Longmire Museum, checking the historical exhibits. We had a chat with Ranger to know more about the area and the day hikes we should not miss! A self-guiding loop trail – Trail of the Shadows was the first easy trail we embarked on. It takes you through early history of the Longmire Meadows. The trail is 0.7 miles long and it starts across the main park road from the Longmire Museum.
Madcap Falls Mt Rainier National Park
Foot bridge cross over the Nisqually River for Carters Falls Mt Rainier National Park
Spectacular Carter Falls Mt Rainier National Park
Carter Falls
From there, we took our next stop at the paved pullout for the Carter Falls/Madcap Falls. The trail is 2.2 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 500 feet. The trail is moderate. You start by walking through some small rocks crossing a wooden log bridge under the Paradise River. Trail then takes you through a forest area. You can hear the sweet voices of the birds as you hike up to the Falls. Both Carter Falls and Madcap falls are pretty to capture and you are immediately sucked into the beauty of the landscape around you! This trail is part of the great “Wonderland Trail” that is 93 miles long and it encircles the entire Park boundary.
Christine Falls Mt Rainier National Park
Christine Falls and Narada Falls
Driving back on the main road, we next stopped at the pull out area for sublime and romantic Christine Falls! Christine falls has a picture perfect setting of the Falls under the Bridge that it would be hard for you to stop yourself from pulling out your cameras! It is 0.2 mile from the Comet falls parking area.
Narada falls is another not to be missed point of interest in this area. The gushing waterfall can be accessed via a short hike. The falls are truly majestic and it will drench you quite a bit!
Narada Falls Mt Rainier National Park
Paradise Visitor Center Mt Rainier National Park
After a quick stop at the Narada Falls, we headed to the splendid Paradise area of the Mount Rainier National Park. The moment you park your vehicle in the Parking lot near the Henry M Jackson Visitor center and get out, you will be awed by the vast glacial peaks surrounding you.
Due to the sudden down pour, we took a break and had our lunch in the cafeteria inside the visitor center and spent some time reading about the different facts of the National Park. Then we went on an easy hike towards the Myrtle Falls via the Skyline Trail Loop. Since Paradise Area is also known as “the snowiest place on earth” by some sources you might see ample snow cover on the trails in this region.
Marmots enjoying the view at Skyline trail Mt Rainier National Park
Myrtle Falls Mt Rainier National Park
Before heading out of the Park and calling it a day, we did a quick stop over at the Parking Area for the Reflection lakes. On a clear day, you can see clear reflections of Mount Rainier in the Lakes and someday we wish we are lucky enough to capture it through our lenses!
Day 2
Sunrise Area
Personally, we like the Sunrise Area a lot more than the Paradise Area. Probably the reason is because being the highest point of the Park, you feel much closer to the magnificent Mount Rainier with clear views of the glaciers all around!
Do visit the Visitor Center for inquiring the trail conditions of the area before you are exploring this area. There are plenty of trails starting from the Parking Lot Area but we recommend everyone to hike the Sourdough Ridge Trail towards the Frozen lake!
Frozen Lake Mt Rainier National Park
It’s approximately 1.4 miles from the Parking lot to the amazing Frozen lake. Words are falling short to describe this serene trail. So we will just let the above pictures do the talking.
Snow-packed Burroughs Mountain Trail almost disappearing after the 5 way split junction near Frozen Lake, Mt Rainier National Park
From Frozen Lake we continued on the Sourdough Ridge Trail till the First Burroughs. The trail area past the Frozen Lake was snow packed, so from the First Burroughs we headed east towards the Sunrise Camp/ Glacier Overlook.
View of Mt Rainier peak from Sourdough trail
Sourdough Ridge Wonderland Trail
Throughout the hike, there were few stretches where there was no one on the trail except us. Thereby we made quite a few stops to soak in the views of the glacial peaks. We had some hypnagogic moments all along the hike that we were finding it hard to remove our glaze from the dramatic views of Mt Rainier.
At Sunrise Camp, we got onto the Wonderland trail towards Shadow Lake. The scenery around Shadow Lake was calm and peaceful and we took a stop for a quick bite. Then we hiked for ~0.5 miles to Emmons Vista before heading back to the Parking Lot. Emmons vista gives a clear view of the largest glacier of the Mt Rainier – Emmons Glacier and also a beautiful unnamed glacial lake.
Glacier and Mountain views from Emmons Vista Overlook
Glacier Overlook
Grove Of The Patriarchs & Silver Falls
Most of our time on Day 2 was spent in the Sunrise Area. For the remainder of the time, we had planned to drive South from the Sunrise Area to experience completely different landscape of the Park – Ohanapecosh Area.
This area is known for the Groves of old growth dense trees. There are two major points of interest in this area – Silver Falls & Grove of the Patriarchs.
Silver Falls trail is accessible from three trail heads. We took the 0.6 mile trail that starts at the pullout on the west side of State route 123 road. Silver Falls is stunning to view and capture.
After the hike, we continued driving west towards Paradise area, taking stops to view the Box Canyon & Cowlitz Overlook Bridge.
Visiting Mount Rainier National park any time of the year is truly a magical experience. The glaciated peaks are such an awe-inspiring natural beauty that one can be filled to the brim of their hearts with emotions that can be inexplicable!
Pacific Northwest part of USA is blessed with some incredible landscape and you can see quite a few glimpses of it during your visit to Mount Rainier National park.We are blessed that we had a chance to visit this surreal and exquisite National Park twice already as part of our adventures and we are looking forward to many more visits to Mount Rainier National Park!
Keep venturing outdoors and explore nature as much as you can and if you like our blog, please subscribe, share and follow us!!
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July and August are the best months to visit the Park but it is more crowded during this time.
To avoid crowds visit the Park during September and early October before the winter start.
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Closest airport to the National Park are Seattle - Tacoma International (SEA) & Portland International (PDX).
Paradise which is the most popular area of the Park is ~ 104 miles from Seattle and ~ 155 miles from Portland.
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Inside the Park there are three lodging facilities - National Park Inn, Paradise Inn and Sunrise Day Lodge.
National Park Inn is open all year around.
Views from the lodges are great and they also have a dining room serving all three meals of the day.
Park also offers four different campground facilities. All the details can be found here.
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Visit Rainier website which provides a good resource for food options outside the National Park.
Try to hike at least some part of the Wonderland Trail if you can’t hike/backpack the entire 93 miles of it.
Due to the high elevation in the Paradise and Sunrise areas, make sure to visit these areas in the morning. So that you can enjoy the cloud free views of the towering peaks.
Please visit Park website for any alerts & conditions.
Usually it is a bit chilly in the mountain terrain ,so carry warm clothes with you.
Hiking trails can be snow covered, so we recommend carrying good hiking shoes & poles.
Most of the roads of the Park can be closed at various times, so check out the current road conditions before your visit.
Read Park’s guide to avoid summer congestion.
Please follow leave no trace policy
