Mount Rainier National Park

DAY 1
Mount Rainier is an icon of the Pacific Northwest landscape. The active volcano’s summit sits at over 14,400 feet, making it the highest mountain in the state of Washington. David and I were super excited to visit, and check another national park off our list.

The morning started off bright and early in Seattle. It felt like living in New York City all over again – walking to Macrina Bakery, eating our breakfast sandwiches in a chic café with windows open to the busy street. Fueled up, we were ready to tackle Mt. Rainier!

The plan was to take a few days to explore the national park from east to west. Our first stop was Sunrise, known for its nearly 360-degree view of the volcano and surrounding valley. Unfortunately we were unable to see this view; Mt. Rainier was completely socked in. You could feel its presence looming from behind the white wall of clouds, occasionally teasing us with a few spots of the mountain peaking through. Continuing up the road to the visitor center we encountered a light snowstorm – which only made it more scenic with everything dusted in snow.

We drove south on Rte 123, which runs along the east side of the park. Weaving in and out of thick fog through the forest, we stopped near the Stevens Canyon Entrance and hiked part of the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail. We strolled along the flat path beside the Ohanapecosh River amongst some of the biggest trees we’ve ever seen. It was lightly raining, but you wouldn’t know it due to the thick canopy of leaves shielding us from above. David and I decided to turn around at the suspension bridge hovering over some deeper, sky-blue pockets of the water.

Our day ended at the alpine ski resort on Crystal Mountain. It was a little disappointing that we were unable to see Mt. Rainier all day due to the weather. As a last ditch effort, David checked the webcam at the Summit House – Washington’s highest elevation restaurant at the top of the Mt. Rainier Gondola – and to our surprise there was a sliver of blue sky! We quickly jumped on the gondola and began the 2,500-foot climb up the mountain for a chance to get a glimpse of Mt. Rainier.

We watched the town and some elk below disappear as our gondola was quickly engulfed in fog, our chances looking bleaker by the second at seeing the snow-capped volcano. After a few minutes of riding in silence, holding our breath in anticipation of what was waiting for us at the top, we suddenly rose above the fog to reveal a spectacular sunset over the Cascade Mountains. And at the end of the ride, stepping off of the gondola – we were greeted by Mt. Rainier!

Just the sheer size of the mountain was impressive, but to pair that with a beautiful sunset was pretty incredible. David and I admired the view until the sun was gone. I took as many photos as I could before my hands were too painful from the cold. We hopped into the gondola, flew back into the fog and ended the night eating popcorn and warming up at our hotel.

DAY 2
We woke up the next morning to more fog and cloudy skies. After eating breakfast at the Swiss-themed Alpine Restaurant, David and I picked up where we left off yesterday on Stevens Canyon Road – at Box Canyon. An easy half-mile trail ran beside glacier-carved rocks to a footbridge hanging over the slot canyon where we watched the milky blue water rushing through the narrow gorge.

Continuing down the road we passed a flock of ptarmigan and Reflections Lake – reflecting nothing but the gray clouds hiding Mt. Rainier. We hiked to a couple waterfalls off the main road; our favorite was Narada Falls – where Paradise River cascades off an old eroded lava flow 168 feet to the valley floor. We turned around in Longmire after checking out its museum and National Park Inn, and headed back to Paradise where we were spending the night.

It was still early in the day, so we decided to hike a portion of the Carter Falls Trail. The path went through the rocky debris field that Nisqually River normally fills up from the spring runoff. It was a bit eerie standing in the middle of the foggy valley, next to boulders twice my size. It was hard not to imagine the melted glacier water crashing down from the mountain, filling up the entire area we were standing in. There was a hand-hewn log bridge spanning over what was left of the river, with what appeared to be last year’s bridge washed up behind it. We decided not to venture out any further and made our way back to the hotel.

Paradise Inn sits at 5,400 feet on the south slope of Mt. Rainier. It was named one of the great lodges of the west – and you can immediately see why the moment you step inside. The decorative woodwork was gorgeous; from the rustic beams to the wood-framed piano still being played today. The hanging lanterns emitted a soft glow, illuminating the wildflowers that were painted on each one. And on either side of the lobby were massive stone fireplaces keeping visitors warm.

David and I checked in, ate lunch at the Tatoosh Café, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on a couch beside the fire. We were still hoping to see Mt. Rainier – it was hard to believe that we were literally sitting on the slope of the 14,000-foot volcano but still could not see a trace of it through the thick fog. The weather only got worse throughout the afternoon, which gave us a good excuse not to move from our cozy spot. The only time we left the couch was to enjoy dinner in the Dining Room, which served some of the best food we’ve had at a national park lodge. We returned to our spot by the fire where we remained for the rest of the evening, until the flames became coals, and it was time to turn in.

DAY 3
Our time exploring Mt. Rainier National Park was amazing, but there was a small part of me that resented the bad weather that hid the volcano from us during our entire visit. The last two days of our vacation were dedicated to sightseeing in Seattle, but when we ended up seeing everything by the end of the first day, the new plan for the last day of our trip was to check the webcams in the morning to see if the weather in the national park had cleared up – and lo and behold there wasn’t a cloud in the sky!

Our morning began with a short walk through Pioneer Square to the Grand Central Bakery for breakfast before hopping in our car and heading straight to Mt. Rainier National Park – we didn’t want to give the clouds a single second to roll in. Our first quick view of Mt. Rainier came when we passed by an open farm. It already felt like the mountain was towering over us, and we still had another hour before entering the park near its base.

Driving through the White River Entrance we climbed the windy road to Sunrise, rounding the same corner as we did on day one where we caught a glimpse of the mountain through the wild clouds – only this time stood Mt. Rainier in its full glory! We couldn’t take our eyes off of it as we made our way to Paradise, pulling over at every overlook, taking in the cloudless, unobstructed views.

Paradise is where we truly grasped the scale of Mt. Rainier. Driving the short, one-way loop through the valley, we came to an overlook of Paradise Inn – the lodge looked like a miniature toy compared to the sheer mass of the volcano. It was hard to comprehend that any amount of fog or clouds could cover it up.

We grabbed lunch at the visitor center and enjoyed it in the outdoor picnic area overlooking Mt. Rainier, basking in the warm sun, watching the blue jays fly around celebrating the beautiful day. It was pretty remarkable being able to experience the national park go through completely contrasting weather patterns. We stayed in Paradise all afternoon before returning back to Seattle. It was absolutely worth the second trip.