Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano, a cone built up over hundreds of thousands of years by countless eruptions. It sleeps now, but it is far from dead, and the whole park is arranged around it like a great wheel with the Mountain at the hub. What sets Rainier apart is its ice. The peak wears 26 named glaciers, more than any other mountain in the contiguous United States, vast slow rivers of ice like the Nisqually, the Emmons, and the Carbon that grind down its flanks and feed the cold streams and waterfalls that ring the park.

The heart of the visitor experience is Paradise, a subalpine meadow that sits at about 5,400 feet on the mountain's south side. Paradise catches some of the heaviest snowfall measured anywhere on earth, which is why its famous wildflowers wait until mid-July through August to bloom, later than almost any garden in the country. When they do, the meadows light up in color beneath the ice, a contrast of flowers and glaciers that has drawn people to the Mountain for well over a century.

Away from the high meadows, the park spreads out into magnificent old-growth forest, groves of enormous Douglas fir, western hemlock, and red cedar, along with waterfalls, cold rivers, and the highest road you can drive on Rainier at Sunrise. Circling the whole peak is the Wonderland Trail, a roughly 93-mile footpath that loops all the way around the mountain through forest, meadow, and river valley. It is a lot of country packed onto one mountain, and the elevations run from lowland rainforest to bare rock and glacier.

• Nisqually Entrance, off WA-706 near Ashford in the southwest corner, is open year-round and is the main way in during winter. It is the gateway to Longmire and the road up to Paradise.
• Stevens Canyon / Ohanapecosh Entrance, off WA-123 near Packwood on the southeast side, is seasonal and closed in winter. It opens onto the quieter Ohanapecosh area and the old-growth forest there.
• White River Entrance, off WA-410 near Enumclaw on the northeast side, is seasonal and closed in winter. It is the way up to Sunrise, the highest point you can drive to in the park.
• Carbon River Entrance, off WA-165 near Wilkeson in the northwest, is seasonal and reaches the park's inland temperate rainforest.
• From Seattle and Tacoma, most visitors take WA-7 and WA-706 to the Nisqually Entrance, about an hour and a half of driving. From the east and Yakima, WA-410 and WA-123 climb over the Cascade passes to the seasonal north and east gates, so plan for those to be closed in winter.

• Nisqually and Paradise (southwest): the classic front door to Rainier. Mount Rainier is a 14,411-foot active volcano and one of the most glaciated peaks in the country, with 26 named glaciers, and Paradise at 5,400 feet receives more snowfall than almost anywhere on earth. Its wildflower meadows bloom from mid-July through August, right below the ice.

• Reflection Lakes hold a mirror image of Rainier in their calm water on a still morning, and you can reach them right from the road below Paradise.
• The Skyline Trail is a 5.5-mile loop from Paradise that climbs through the wildflower meadows for close-up views of the Nisqually Glacier and the summit. It is the signature day hike on the mountain.
• The Grove of the Patriarchs, near the Stevens Canyon Entrance, is a short walk to a river island of Douglas firs more than a thousand years old, some of the oldest trees in the park.
• The Carbon River Rainforest in the northwest corner is the only inland temperate rainforest in Washington, a green, dripping world of moss and ferns unlike anywhere else in the park.

Long before it was a park, Rainier was a sacred landmark to the Native peoples of the region, who knew it by names such as Tahoma or Tacoma. Its meadows, berry fields, and forested slopes were part of the seasonal round of the Nisqually, Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Cowlitz, Yakama, and other tribes, who came to the mountain to gather berries, hunt, and dig roots. Those ties to the Mountain have never ended, and the tribes of the region remain connected to it today.

Newcomers gave the mountain the name Rainier in 1792, when the British explorer George Vancouver charted the coast and named it for a fellow naval officer who never saw it. Climbers reached the icy summit for the first time in 1870, and by the late 1800s the flowered meadows at Paradise and Longmire were drawing tourists, artists, and mountaineers up into the high country.

The push to protect the mountain came from scientists, climbers, and railroads alike, and it paid off on March 2, 1899, when Mount Rainier became the fifth national park in the United States. Set aside to guard the great volcano and its forests and meadows, it was one of the first parks created purely for its scenery rather than a single natural wonder.

In the decades that followed, rustic stone-and-timber buildings rose in the park, including the beloved Paradise Inn, and crews carved the roads and trails that still carry visitors today. The Civilian Conservation Corps worked here in the 1930s, building trails, campgrounds, and structures across the park. The roughly 93-mile Wonderland Trail that circles the peak, laid out in the early 1900s, remains one of the great legacies of that era.

• Mount Rainier is 14,411 feet tall, the highest peak in the Cascade Range and the fifth-highest in the Lower 48, and it stands so far above everything around it that it is one of the most prominent mountains in the country.
• The mountain carries 26 named glaciers, more than any other peak in the contiguous United States, and all that ice feeds five major rivers that flow out in every direction.
• Paradise is one of the snowiest places on earth. During the winter of 1971 to 1972 it recorded more than 1,120 inches of snow, a world record at the time, which is why the wildflowers wait until midsummer to bloom.
• Rainier's greatest danger is not lava but the lahar, a fast-moving flood of mud and rock that can race down the river valleys when ice, water, and debris let loose. Great lahars have swept these valleys before, so the park watches the mountain closely and marks escape routes near the rivers.
• The mountain makes its own weather. It is so tall that it pulls clouds out of the moist Pacific air, and a lens-shaped cap cloud over the summit is a local sign that a storm is coming.
• The Wonderland Trail, which loops all the way around the peak, is about 93 miles long and gains and loses tens of thousands of feet as it crosses ridge after ridge. Backpackers usually take a week to ten days to walk it.
• Rainier is one of the most heavily monitored volcanoes in the country, watched by seismometers and flow sensors, because so many people now live in the valleys that lead down from its ice.

• An entrance fee applies (per vehicle, good for seven days), and interagency annual passes are accepted; check the park website for current rates.
• The Nisqually Entrance in the southwest is open year-round; the other entrances are closed in winter, so plan around that if you are coming from the north or east.
• The road up to Paradise is generally open from late May through October, and in winter it stays open only for daytime snow play, weather permitting, while the roads to Sunrise and the other high areas close entirely in the cold months.
• In winter, rangers lead snowshoe programs at Paradise on weekends, a good way to see the meadows under deep snow.
• Summit climbs are serious mountaineering and require registration with the park, along with real experience, gear, and often a guide; do not attempt the top without the skills to do it safely.

Yes. Mount Rainier charges a per-vehicle entrance fee that is good for seven days, and interagency annual passes are accepted. Check the National Park Service website for the current rate before you go, and remember that the fee is separate from any timed-entry reservation.

The Nisqually Entrance in the southwest stays open year-round, and the road up to Paradise is generally kept open in winter for daytime snow play, weather permitting. The other entrances, along with the road to Sunrise and most of the high country, close under deep snow in the cold months. Sunrise is a summer-only destination, usually reachable from around July into early fall.

You may. In recent years the park has used timed-entry reservations during the busy summer season for popular corridors like Paradise and Sunrise, on top of the entrance fee, to manage heavy crowds. The system and dates can change from year to year, so check the park's official information before you go and reserve ahead if you are visiting in summer.

The famous subalpine wildflowers at Paradise and Sunrise usually peak from late July into August, later than almost anywhere else because of the deep snow that lingers into summer. If seeing the meadows in full color is your goal, aim for those weeks, and know the timing shifts a little each year with the snowmelt.

Mid-July through September is the reliable window: the high roads to Paradise and Sunrise are open, the trails are clear of snow, and the wildflowers are out. Fall brings color and thinner crowds. Winter is quiet and beautiful for snowshoeing and snow play at Paradise, but most roads and services close, so plan accordingly.

Rainier is tall enough to make its own weather. It pulls clouds out of the moist Pacific air, so the summit is often hidden even on a fine day in the lowlands, and conditions can change fast. Bring layers, rain gear, and warm clothes no matter the forecast, because a clear view of the peak is a gift and the meadows can turn cold and wet in minutes.

You can, but it is a serious mountaineering climb, not a hike. Reaching the 14,411-foot summit means crossing glaciers, roping up, and dealing with crevasses, thin air, and sudden storms, and it requires registration and a climbing permit with the park. Most people go with a guide service or as part of an experienced, well-equipped team. If you do not have the skills and gear, do not attempt it.

You can see Paradise, a few overlooks, and a short trail in a single busy day. To take in both Paradise and Sunrise, walk a longer hike like the Skyline Trail, and visit the old-growth forest, give it two or three days. Backpackers circling the whole peak on the Wonderland Trail usually take a week to ten days.

Pets are allowed in developed areas, parking lots, campgrounds, and along roads, but not on most trails or in the wildflower meadows and backcountry, so they cannot join you on the Skyline Trail or the meadow walks. Keep pets leashed, bring water, and check the park website for the current rules.

Inside the park, the historic Paradise Inn and the National Park Inn at Longmire offer rustic lodging in season, and the park has several campgrounds that fill up fast in summer. Just outside the gates, the small towns of the Cascade foothills, especially Ashford near the Nisqually Entrance, hold most of the nearby motels and cabins. Book well ahead for summer weekends.