Mount Rainier National Park

My kids were too young for any serious exploring – need to go back and see more.

My family used to go camping at the White River Campground every year during the last weekend in July. The weather was always fantastic and my aunt, uncle, and some cousins would usually come too. The campground is well-kept and there are a number of good, short hikes. Sometimes during the longer hikes, we’d come across some snow on the trail. I’d recommend going as early as possible on Friday or even Thursday, since the campground usually seemed to fill up pretty quickly.

Gorgeous in clear blue weather, great for hiking, camping, and taking photos. The national forest outside the park is lovely, camping in undevolped sites is free, and there are some great views. In the winter, the snowshoeing is great (there are guided tours where you can rent shoes if you lack them), and the sledding is awesome. Don’t bring runner sleds, go for intertubes instead. I’ve always wanted to hike the Wonderland Trail, I hear it’s lovely.

Awesome views and new perspectives of the mountain I’ve seen thousands of times from afar (and even above).

was just this past Sunday (8-13-06). My girlfriend joined up with me in Seattle during my 3-week long tour of the west coast for work and vacation.

I can already tell that this won’t be my last time going there.

The two of us were just blown away by this place. The natural beauty here is beyond parallel, and the extent to which the park is so well maintained impressed us both. The footpaths were very clean of litter, the roads are in great condition, and every effort is being made to preserve the beauty for generations to come. We saw a lot of evidence of restoration projects, especially at reflection lake, and we both remarked how we felt that humanity’s impact was minimized here, to the extent that it can be…

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to go along many of the paths; a real visit to this place, I think, may involve several days, and possibly include camping somewhere in the park. We only had a day.

All of the big attractions that we saw are worth visiting. Paradise (where this picture was taken) is stunning for its greenery. My favorite was Sunrise, however, which is the highest point accessible by car. Had we had more time, we would have hiked up the trails here, as recommended by jrocklin below.

Simply put: If you are ANYWHERE nearby at any point in your life, do not miss this! It’s simply too amazing to pass up. Go on a weekday and start your day early!

For a great view of Mt. Ranier, and a wonderful 360 view of many other peaks in the area, go up to the Sunrise visitor center, and hike up to the Burroughs Mountains. The view from the 2nd peak is amazing – you are right next to Ranier, and about half way up the mountain!

I grew up in the shadow of Mt. Rainier; naturally I ultimately became a geologist. I did my very first hiking, skiing, camping and backpacking trips there. The glaciers and ridges of Mt. Rainier served as my first “big mountain experiences” and the climbing knowledge, skills and confidence I gained in my 60+ ascents on 7 different routes on Mt. Rainier over the years has stood me in good stead climbing big routes on big mountains in big weather all over the world.

Mt. Rainier is oe of the most beautiful, peaceful, moving and powerful places on earth—please don’t go there, it’s over crowded and being “loved to death”.