Exploring Mt. Rainier National Park

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Most Seattle-ites (and even those who have visited the area during a period of good weather) know the excitement of being able to see Mt. Rainier on a sunny, clear day. It’s a sure sign of a great day. 

I moved to Seattle in early October 2021, and have only been able to see Rainier from the city a handful of times. During the winter, the weather in Seattle is mostly overcast and visibility of the mountains is usually low. In the winter, many of the roads in Mt. Rainier National Park are even closed due to weather conditions and snow cover. Until this past weekend, I hadn’t actually visited Mt. Rainier National Park since moving out here in October. I’ve been meaning to visit but during the weekends I was available, but conditions just weren’t right. When I saw the forecast during Easter weekend, I knew my time had come to explore the volcano and National Parks in all their glory. 

For those living in or visiting Seattle, it’s a pretty easy drive out to Mt. Rainier National Park. Depending on traffic, it’s roughly a 2-hour drive from Downtown Seattle. We got lucky with traffic and made it only 1 hour and 45 minutes (likely due to the Easter holiday keeping people off the roads). If you don’t have your own vehicle, I’d recommend using Turo or Zipcar to rent a car for the trip. It’s an easy process, and many vehicles can be picked up in the Downtown Seattle area. Check out their individual websites for more information on reserving a vehicle. 

If you don’t want to go through the process of renting and driving a car, there are also many guided tours available out of Downtown Seattle. I’ve never done this option myself, but I’ve heard good things about opting for a guided van/motorcoach tour. Make sure to read the reviews and all of the details before booking a tour. And don’t forget to check where the pick-up/drop-off points are located! 

Mt. Rainier National Park is a pretty easy day trip from Seattle, though you can also camp or stay overnight if that’s of interest to you. I plan to stay overnight near the National Park over the summer, but this time around we only did a day trip. 

We left Downtown Seattle a bit later than we would have liked–around 8:30am–and we arrived at 10:15am. The weather was honestly perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Clear skies (literally no clouds in sight), sun all morning long, and fresh snow! A photographer’s dream. 

Something I believe is important to note here is the prices to enter the National Park, as well as a requirement for vehicles visiting the park during the winter/early spring months. Click here to view pricing per car/vehicle, per person, and more. You must also have tire chains to enter the park in the winter/spring. You might not necessarily need to use them right now, but you must still have them to enter the park. The rangers will ask if you have them. If you don’t, you could be turned away. There is a small Ukrainian bakery up the road from the National Park and they sell tire chains for $20 a day (that’s how much they were when we visited, the price might go up/down depending on seasonality or demand). 

Once you’re in the park, there are a ton of things to do. Hiking, view points, snowshoeing, you name it. It’s an adventurer’s paradise, and offers enjoyment the whole family can enjoy. 

Since this was our first time at Mt. Rainier National Park, we decided to keep it lowkey and do some scenic driving and light hiking. I also was not completely sure high intensity physical activity would bode well for me just yet, as I underwent dental surgery only two weeks prior. 

The views on the drive up to the Paradise Visitor’s Center were incredible and there were several spots to stop and enjoy the gorgeous scenery. There is also a lodge located inside the National Park across from the Paradise Visitor Center. The lodge is called Paradise Inn and it opens on May 21, 2022 for the season. When we visited the park, it was closed for obvious reasons (it’s off-season currently). However, it looked beautiful and would be a great option for our summer trip to Mt. Rainier National Park. Their website can be found here!

The parking lot at the Paradise Visitor’s Center was almost completely full, but we didn’t have trouble finding a spot after circling a couple times. The snow was piled so high! Check out this photo–for reference, Bradley is 6 feet tall. I couldn’t believe how much snow was still on the ground in mid-April. After speaking with a park ranger, we learned that this is uncommon for this time of year. 

We climbed up to a spot away from the crowds and found a beautiful scenic view of both Mt. Rainier and the surrounding range. The snow was knee-deep, and we absolutely could have benefited from wearing snowshoes. We mostly just sat in the snow and enjoyed the breathtaking views. Oh, and we also made snow angels! Our fingers nearly froze off but it was quite fun. 

On the drive back, we pulled off at a waterfall viewpoint (Christine Falls). On our drive up, the viewpoint was too crowded so we skipped it. But coming down the path from the Paradise Visitor’s Center, we noticed the crowd had thinned significantly and so we decided to stop. I am so glad we did. I am a sucker for a good waterfall, and this one was pretty neat. We could see chunks of ice floating at the base of the falls. Again, crazy to think that there are still floating chunks of ice in the falls in mid-April. 

After our waterfall stop, we continued onward to exit the park. The clouds started to come out and the air was a bit colder than what we prepared to endure that day. As we exited the park, we both agreed that finding food was a top priority. 

We came across a Ukrainian bakery and restaurant not too far from the entrance to the National Park. Knowing that food availability might be scarce considering the holiday and also the distance from any nearby restaurants, we decided to take a chance on the Ukrainian spot. I am so glad we did. I ordered macaroni and cheese, and Bradley got the chicken perogies. Both dishes were made from scratch and were exactly what we needed. Delicious. 

The drive back to Seattle was easy and scenic. We left the National Park around 2pm and got home around 5pm (we spent roughly 45 minutes at the Ukrainian restaurant). It’s a fun day trip for those visiting Seattle, and it could even be turned into a weekend trip in the summer months! 

For another fun day trip out of Seattle, check out my blog post on visiting Leavenworth, WA! 

Have you ever visited Mt. Rainier National Park? In honor of the National Park Week last week, comment below letting me know your thoughts on the following: what is your favorite National Park or National Park Site? 

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