The greatest peak of the Pacific Northwest, Mt Rainier is one of the most recognizable mountains in the entire United States. And while summiting this giant mountain may not be in your immediate plans, visiting Mt Rainier National Park definitely should be!
Centered around this gigantic peak, Mt Rainier National Park is a paradise for the lover of the outdoors. With great hiking, outstanding views and natural beauty, and lots of incredible places to visit, this park should be on your immediate to-visit list!
There are however a ton of things to figure out before you go, and that’s why we made this page. We may not know everything, but we think we have all the information you need to begin planning a trip to this awesome national park!
What Mt Rainier National Park Is Known For:
Mt Rainier National Park is best known for its namesake feature: Mt Rainier! At 14,411 feet, Rainier absolutely towers above everything around it. Not only does this include the national park, it also includes the rest of the Cascade Mountain Range! This is the highest peak in the entire Pacific Northwest, and since the land around the mountain is relatively low, the summit towers miles above!
For the ambitious, Mt Rainier is one of the premier mountaineering goals in the entire Lower 48. This mountain is not for beginners though, most spend up to 4 days attempting to summit the peak!
For the less adventurous (or crazy depending on your personal opinion) the hiking here is also great. There are miles upon miles of hiking here, and the difficulty ranges from easy walks all the way up to the 93 mile long Wonderland Trail.
Supporting all of that great hiking are numerous stunning areas of the park. The most famous and very busy Paradise and Sunrise areas of the park are incredible alpine playgrounds, and offer easy access to absolutely stunning terrain!
Why You Should Go:
Think about purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Mt Rainier!
If you enjoy stunning mountain views with bright green forests and ice covered peaks, you should visit Mt Rainier. If you enjoy great hiking, whether it’s long distance backpacking or hour long walks, you should visit Mt Rainier. If you just want to enjoy some time outside in a beautiful place, you should visit Mt Rainier!
In addition to the incredible visuals, this area has a great summer climate. At lower elevations, you can expect July and August temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s, and at higher elevations 60’s and 70’s are more common. Add in days of uninterrupted sunshine and you’ve got some great summer weather!
Views, hiking, beauty, weather: if you like those things Mt Rainier National Park should be your next trip!
The Good:
- The views. I don’t think too much needs to be said here, but the views really are incredible. Really from any point in the park, you’ll have at least glimpses of Mt Rainier, one of the most impressive mountains in the country. From many of the other highpoints in the park, numerous other huge Cascade volcanoes are also visible, and everywhere in between are the low but rugged and forested Cascades!
- The hiking. Mt Rainier has some of the most beautiful hiking trails anywhere in the country. It makes sense considering how good the scenery is, but truly the hiking here is great. No matter your ability or fitness level you’ll find something here to match. Add onto that the resources that the National Park Service has compared to the forest service or most state parks do for trail maintenance and you get some beautifully made and maintained trails!
- The mountaineering. Mountaineering is a pretty niche sport, and honestly if you’re reading this you probably aren’t a mountaineer, but it should be said that this is one of the premier places for it in the country. Mt Rainier is arguably the top mountaineering objective in the Lower 48, and it’s right here!
- The forests. While I will admit that I’m partial to the Redwoods and Sequoias of California, the evergreens of the Pacific Northwest are very nice too! The valleys here are filled with huge old pines, and the massive amounts of moisture here yield some very rich, and very green forests!
The Bad:
- The crowds. As is the case with most major national parks, Mt Rainier does have its share of crowds. Especially when you visit the major centers of the park, expect to be sharing the space. Exacerbated by the fact that many of the roads here are only open June through September, peak season here really is busy!
- The remoteness. I hesitate to put this in this category, but in terms of services, lodging, cell service, and just about everything else, Mt Rainier is pretty remote. It’s actually really close to Seattle, especially when you think about how truly remote many national parks are, but there really isn’t much within park boundaries in terms of food, lodging, cell service, and pretty much everything else!
- The snow. Mt Rainier wouldn’t be Mt Rainier without the snow and ice it’s famed for, but the massive snowfall totals that this area receives each year do make it a bit of a pain to access. If you want to hike in the high elevation regions of the park, don’t visit before mid July, and make sure you’re done by mid September!
How Much Time To Spend In Mt Rainier National Park:
Try the Sunrise Rim Trail for an easier hike in Mt Rainier that still has great views!
I really wouldn’t worry about spending too much time in Mt Rainier National Park. I would worry however about not spending enough! If you’re thinking about planning a week-long trip to Mt Rainier, that would be great!
While you could probably spend a month here and have a good time, you don’t need that much time to hit the highlights, and explore multiple regions of the park. For truly avid hikers, two weeks would be a good amount of time to explore multiple areas of the park and hike most of the good trails. For more casual hikers, a week would be plenty.
While you could visit Mt Rainier as a day trip from the Seattle area, you certainly would not be able to see all of the best this place has to offer. On a day trip or weekend trip, you could visit one single part of the park and do a hike or two. However, I think a week really is the sweet spot!
What Time Of Year To Visit:
Help keep this place beautiful. Follow Leave No Trace!
Mt Rainier is primarily a summer destination. Mt Rainier National Park gets absolutely massive amounts of snowfall, and while the higher slopes of Rainier itself get the most, even the lower reaches of the park get huge quantities of snow.
Most of the roads through Mt Rainier close for the winter, so you won’t even be able to reach much of the park during winter and most of spring. This means that you must wait until the snow melts and the roads open to hike or visit. Once the snow starts falling in the fall, the roads close again!
This all means that the hiking season in Mt Rainier is exceptionally short. Many roads here don’t actually open until July, so hiking season really is just July through September. You could chance it and try June or maybe October, but I wouldn’t count on the roads being clear. July and August are extremely busy, but those are the best times to hike in Mt Rainier!
Top Things To Do:
This is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
Go for a hike. There are tons of awesome hikes to do here, and the great thing is they range in difficulty and location. Want a massive week long backpacking trip? You can do that! Want a quick and easy 2 mile walk? You can do that! Visiting the north side of the park and not the south side? There’s great hiking no matter where you go, and great views of Mt Rainier!
Climb something. Rock climbing and mountaineering may be a bit out of the mainstream, but if you are into either you can do it here. Mountaineering is especially great here because Mt Rainier itself is one of the premier mountaineering objectives in the lower 48. It’s a definite challenge, and one you shouldn’t take on lightly, but this is a great place for it!
Enjoy the water. It might be a bit too chilly to casually swim in the lakes and streams of the park, but there are ways to enjoy the water! Maybe it’s a dip in one of the stunning subalpine lakes here after a hot hike. Maybe you’ll even take a whitewater rafting trip somewhere in or around the park!
Best Hikes In Mt Rainier National Park:
We have an entire article with the best hikes in Mt Rainier National Park, so we aren’t going to rewrite it all here, but here’s a few short excerpts from some of the best!
Mt Fremont Lookout Trail
5.7 miles
1,112 feet vertical gain
It’s not often that I give a trail a 10/10, but this one honestly is as good as it gets. The views are absolutely world class from the first step, the trail reaching the fire lookout is really cool with some nice exposure, and the fire lookout and viewpoint itself is an excellent finishing destination. I cannot name a better trail under 7 miles!
Crystal Peak
8.5 miles
3,071 feet vertical gain
While Mt Rainier National park is obviously named and known for it’s paramount peak, there are a number of smaller mountains that make for incredible day hikes, and provide out of this world views. One of those mountains is Crystal Peak.
Located seemingly just an arms length from the massive Rainier, Crystal Peak is a relatively unassuming mountain. You probably wouldn’t notice it from many of the other vantage points in the area. However, it is located in one of the most majestic places in the world.
The Wonderland Trail to Summerland
11 miles
2,562 feet vertical gain
Wrapping its way around the entirety of Mt Rainier, the Wonderland Trail is Mt Rainier National Park’s greatest long distance trail. While many ambitious backpackers tackle the entire thing each summer, far more hike certain sections as day hikes. Possibly the most stunning of all these sections of the Wonderland Trail is the segment to Summerland and Panhandle Gap.
An alpine meadow set near the treeline on the lower slopes of Mt Rainier, the dayhike to Summerland is a relatively moderate 11 miles roundtrip. This hike isn’t easy per se, but for views and alpine terrain like this, you usually have to work much harder!
Bench Lake and Snow Lake
2.2 miles
446 feet vertical gain
This is probably the best 2 mile trail I’ve ever hiked. Snow Lake is a stunning alpine lake, the type of place you would gladly hike 5 miles each way to reach. The fact that you can get there via a 2 mile round trip hike is awesome! The views are stunning all the way through: both lakes, back towards Rainier, and the ridges beyond the lakes. There are some steep spots, but if you want a great, pretty easy hike, this is the one!
Accessibility:
The Mt Rainier National Park website admits that many of their facilities predate laws requiring accessible facilities. However, they do note they are working to make the park more accessible to all. The park brochure is available in braille, audio, and more. Service animals are allowed on trails and in park facilities. The park website also includes accessible facilities in each of the park’s regions.
For more information, visit the Mt Rainier Accessibility Page here.
Top Tips:
- Be sure to visit Paradise and/or Sunrise. There are tons of incredible places in this park, but for me the two best are Paradise and Sunrise. These two areas of the park allow you to climb high onto the flanks of Mt Rainier itself, and Sunrise in particular is the highest point reachable by car in the park. The views are amazing, the hiking is incredible, and it’s all easily accessible by car!
- Find lodging near the things you want to do. While it might seem fine to stay on one side of the park and visit the other side frequently, I would advise against it. Mt Rainier is a big park, and while that is great, it means travel times can be long. If you’re camping near Sunrise but want to hike Tolmie Peak, expect a 2 and a half hour drive each way, and that’s without traffic!
- Visit in late July or August. While some of the park’s roads may open in late spring or early summer, the high country of the park isn’t really accessible until the second half of summer. Even in mid July, you will still likely encounter deep snow in places on high elevation trails, even those around Paradise and Sunrise. Visiting in late July and August does mean more traffic, but nature is at its most accessible.
- Arrive at trailheads early. Mt Rainier is a busy place, and while most trailheads have a fair bit of parking, the parking lots do fill up, especially on weekends. Numerous factors contribute to this; the stunning beauty here, the proximity to Seattle, the short summer season; but to be safe, arrive early if you can!
Where To Stay When Visiting Mt Rainier National Park:
Camping:
In The Park:
Cougar Rock Campground
- Reservations
- 179 sites
- No showers
- Flush toilets
Ohanapecosh Campground
- Reservations
- 179 sites
- No showers
- Flush toilets
White River Campground
- First come first served
- 88 sites
- No showers
- Flush toilets
Mowich Lake Campground
- First come first served
- 13 sites
- No potable water
- Vault toilets
- Reached via unpaved road, then requires walk to sites
Outside The Park
Lodgepole Campground
- Reservations
- 34 sites
- No showers
- Vault toilets
- History of water availability issues
Silver Springs Campground
- Reservations
- 56 sites
- No showers
- Flush toilets
The Dalles Campground
- Reservations
- 45 sites
- No showers
- Vault toilets
La Wis Wis Campground
- Reservations
- 109 sites
- No showers
- Vault toilets
Not Camping:
In The Park:
Famous, old school inn located in the Paradise region of the park.
Small inn located a short drive from the Paradise area.
Outside The Park:
Lodge located outside the southeast corner of the park.
Ski resort and lodge located near the northwest corner of the park.
Provides rooms and cabins outside the northeast corner of the park.
Must See Spots:
- Sunrise. For me, Sunrise is the best place to visit in the park. This is the highest elevation point you can drive to in the park, and as such the views are great, the hiking is epic, and it’s all easily reached because you’re already up so high! Many of my favorite hikes in the park begin and end at Sunrise, so for me this is the most see spot!
- Paradise. Paradise is probably the most famous of Mt Rainier’s regions, and for good reason. This is the starting point for some of the most popular ascents up the mountain, and even the easy hikes here are awesome. Many of the most famous trails and views in the park are around Paradise, so it should be on your shortlist to visit!
- Mt Rainier! No visit to Mt Rainier National Park would be complete without some great pictures of the mountain itself! This may be a little silly to say (and probably hard to actually not do) but make sure you get to at least one of the park’s many incredible viewpoints! Whether it’s by hiking to the summit of a smaller mountain, driving to Sunrise of Paradise, or simply stopping on the side of a road, make sure you get your very own postcard worthy shot!
Conclusion:
Mt Rainier needs no introduction, nor a conclusion to be honest. It speaks for itself. From the sheer size of the peak, to its massive prominence over the land around it, to the rivers of ice that carve great chunks of stone off its sides, this is one of the great American mountains.
Mt Rainier National Park is beautiful, and stunning, and magical, and dangerous, and wonderful all at once. From the dense pine forests and glacial rivers of the valleys, up the green forested mountain sides, all the way to the icy heights of Rainier itself, there is tremendous beauty here.
Should you visit? Yes. Should you visit soon? Yes. Should you visit immediately? Yes, though make sure you pack first! I kid, but this is one of the most beautiful places in the United States, and you’re missing out if you’ve never been!
