Mount Rainier National Park
Trip Assistant
How Much Time?
With more than 250 miles of trails, I don’t think any hiker would complain about a few weeks of good weather spent here. If you’re in a rush, Paradise and Sunrise are the two areas to highlight. If you can, hike Skyline Loop. It’s one of the best trails in the country. Need something shorter, head over to Pinnacle Peak. At Sunrise, you want to beeline to all the Burroughs. Similarly, if you’re looking for something shorter, Fremont Overlook is pretty good. Shorter yet, hustle up Sunrise Nature Trail to catch some alpenglow on Mount Rainier. With more time, then you start thinking about Tolmie Peak and other excellent trails.
Need to Know
- A Timed-Entry Permit is required to enter the Paradise Corridor and Sunrise during periods of peak visitation.
- July and August are incredibly busy, but the park stays open year-round. In winter, you can only get to Paradise.
- Being close to Seattle, this is a good park to plan a weekend trip. With that said, on a nice day the mountain serves as a beacon to outdoorsman from miles away.
- Wildflower blooms typically begin in the low elevations around mid-July.
Highlights
- Paradise
- Sunrise
- Stevens Canyon Road
- Inspiration Point
- Ricksecker Point
- Box Canyon
- Carbon River
Activities
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Mountaineering
- Biking
Favorite Trails
Moderate
Strenuous *Links to AllTrailsWhen To Go?
Weather
Visitation
July and August are obviously prime time to be here, but the road to Paradise is plowed through winter (only closing overnight and during snowstorms).
Park Map Downloads
Road Trips
Helpful Tools
Below you'll see a Google Map to help plan road trips from the east (Yellowstone), north (North Cascades), west (Olympic), and south (Crater Lake). It’s a good start, but I’d highly recommend making your own. Google My Maps, Wanderlog, and TripIt are incredibly useful trip planning tools. Find what works best for you!
There’s much more to our country. Here’s another Google Map with points of interest across all types of public land.
For campers, here’s a Google Map with National Forest campgrounds. National Park campgrounds are difficult to reserve (there are about 200!). With nearly 5,000 national forest campgrounds, you can usually pull in and find a spot.
Highlights
Mount Hood, Columbia River Gorge, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Baker (all National Forests!) are phenomenal. Spend a few days exploring them too.
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