With an elevation of 14,411 feet, the peak of the volcano, Mount Rainier, is the tallest in the Cascade Mountains, and a beacon to most of the state of Washington. From the cone of the volcano, more glaciers exist than in any other peaks in the lower 48 states. Visitors can explore the many trails that lead through Paradise and Sunrise, the two highest points in the park that are accessible by car. The waterfalls, alpine lakes, streams, amazing wildflowers, and forests found along the way are magical.
Following our time in Olympic National Park during our Summer 2019 Road Trip, our family traveled 4 hours to Mount Rainier National Park. We arrived at our campsite at Cougar Rock Campground, right inside the park, and, while exploring our site, found an amazingly special rock tucked into one of the logs there. It was such a sweet sign for us on our summer-long journey. That evening, we enjoyed an evening hike from the campground to check out our surroundings, and to get a feel for Mount Rainier National Park.
The next morning, our family headed out from our campground to explore the Paradise side of Mount Rainier National Park, where we had planned to hike for the day. The hike we had chosen was called the “Skyline Trail,” which also connected to the “Upper Skyline Trail.” This specific part of the trail led us up close and personal with the summit of Mount Rainier. All in, we walked about 8 miles on that trail that day, climbing over 1800 vertical feet. It was touch-and-go at so many points, but all four kids did this hike with no assistance. Justin and I were so incredibly proud of them, and I know they were so proud of themselves also. Seeing Rainier through the clouds for a few minutes a few times was just breathtaking.
Along our hike, we loved spotting the marmots near the trail. Hayden counted 36 marmots in total on our hike, and loved updating us on the “Marmot count” as we hiked
Closing in on the summit of our hike, we experienced some visibility issues with seeing the Rainier peak. There was a lot of fog that day, but Rainier peeked in and out of the clouds for a few good views as we hiked. The kids were mesmerized that we were actually “in the clouds,” and Brady later told the park ranger that this was his favorite thing about the day.
After many long hours on the trail, we made our way down the mountain. We were so tired, but so happy that we had made such a challenging hike to see Rainier in all its glory.
After our hike, our family enjoyed some ice cream at the Paradise Lodge, the historic lodge in the park, located adjacent to the visitor center, and the kids worked on their Junior Ranger books. It was a wonderful close to a fantastic day together in Mount Rainier National Park.
