Mount Rainier National Park is one of America’s oldest and best-known national parks, roughly a hundred miles north-northeast of the “City of Roses” as the crow flies. Established as the nation’s fifth national park in 1899, Mount Rainier is about a 155-mile drive from Portland, or approximately 90 miles by road from Seattle.  


The centerpiece of this glorious national treasure is, of course, perpetually snowcapped Mount Rainier itself, the towering, 14,410-foot dormant volcano that can easily be seen from throughout the Seattle and Tacoma areas on a clear day. Travelers who have visited Colorado are likely aware that there are 55 peaks exceeding 14,000 feet in that photogenic state, although none of them are as visually prominent as Mount Rainier for one very important reason.

Remembering that the base altitude in Colorado is Denver’s 5,280 feet, the “Fourteeners” there are actually only in the 9,000-foot range. Mount Rainier, however, is less than 50 miles from sea level, thus constituting a much more massive geologic landmark.  Eventually, it also holds the potential for creating a catastrophic natural disaster, since the Cascade Range has been active volcanically for eons. 

Needless to say, the eruption of nearby Mount St. Helens in 1980 provided a graphic reminder of this situation. But unlike the latter peak, Mount Rainier is much closer to the densely populated areas surrounding Puget Sound, so the danger posed is likely of a much higher order. Please don’t let this deter you from visiting this truly superb park, however, since geologists are confident that there will be ample warnings, should Mother Nature ever decide to initiate any significant volcanic activity here.

Carbon River Rainforest

Lake Louise

Box Canyon of the Cowlitz River

As one of our natural treasures that rewards repeated visits, I have visited Mount Rainier on many occasions. There are hard-to-obtain, somewhat basic group accommodations (although with incredible views) available in the park at the historic, 121-room Paradise Inn, built in 1917. 

Nevertheless, most groups will likely opt to stay in the Tacoma or Seattle areas, where there are a wide range of lodging choices available in all price ranges. A full-day excursion into the park will likely suffice as a thrilling “overview” experience for most groups, even though it is possible to take advantage of but a few of the scenic opportunities which this 368-square-mile facility has to offer in such a short time frame. 

Given that the park contains 26 glaciers covering some 35 square miles, more than 300 miles of trails, and over 140 miles of roads, the challenge to visitors attempting to “see it all” is readily apparent. 

Mount Rainier National Park is open year-round, although only the road from the west (WA 706) to the Nisqually Entrance, Longmire and Paradise is open during the winter months due to the heavy snowfall. In fact, the Paradise area, at an elevation of only 5,400 feet, annually gets an average of 126 inches of the white, fluffy stuff. 

On my most recent trip to the park in mid-July, at Paradise I had planned to take the relatively short Nisqually Vista Trail, which offers superb views of the great Nisqually Glacier. Unfortunately, I was prohibited from doing so because I wasn’t prepared to negotiate the deep snow still remaining on the trail from a much greater than average snowfall last winter. 

There is also one other caveat to remember before your group departs for a Mount Rainier day trip. If the sky is overcast and you can’t see the peak before leaving town, unless a change in the weather is anticipated during the day, you are likely to see mostly clouds and possibly no Mount Rainier at all once you reach the park proper.

Paradise Inn

Glaciers on Mount Rainier

Martha Falls

Although a lot of snow was still evident during my two-day July visit to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, nature provided more than enough compensation for the minor inconveniences it posed. First, the melting snows at higher elevations made the park’s countless waterfalls truly spectacular. The rushing waters of Chenuis, Ranger, Christine, Narada, and Martha Falls, as well as many others along my route, made this trip to Mount Rainier a most memorable one.

The multitudes of brightly colored “spring” wildflowers were obviously at their peak this year in mid-July, while numerous birds and small earthbound critters added to the awe-inspiring splendor. At the northeast corner of the park, I also took an incredible hike though the Carbon River Rain Forest, where ample precipitation had decorated the verdant forest floor with all shades of green.       

Of course, this park is also famous for its deep canyons, beautiful mountain lakes and dense forests of giant Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock. Although I had planned for an extended picture-taking session at lovely Reflection Lake, it turned out to still be snow-covered, so I moved down the road and got some great panoramic shots overlooking Louise Lake, which is at a significantly lower elevation. 

Other sights that are also sure to be appreciated by group travelers include Stevens Canyon, plus the easy trails at the Box Canyon of the Cowlitz River and the Grove of the Patriarchs. On this trip I did not have time to make it to the Sunrise Visitor Center, which, at an elevation of 6,400 feet, is the highest point in the park accessible by vehicle, and an ideal spot from which to view Mount Rainier. Due to the snow, the road to Sunrise had just opened for the season during the previous weekend. I was reminded of another visit on a July 13th many years ago, when I was required to take a pathway cleared through the remaining ten feet (!) of snow to reach the visitor center building.  

Mount Rainier National Park is a truly magical place, so don’t miss it when you plan a trip to the Pacific Northwest!

Bob Hoelscher, CTC, CTP, MCC, CTIE, is a longtime travel industry executive who has sold his tour company, bought a motorhome and is traveling the highways and byways of America.  He is a former chairman of NTA, and was a founding member of Travel Alliance Partners (TAP).

Well-known in the industry as both a baseball and symphony aficionado, Bob is also one of the country’s biggest fans of our national parks, both large and small.  He has already visited more than 325 NPS sites and has several dozen yet to see.  He is currently traveling the country to visit as many of those parks as possible.  His blog, “Travels with Bob,” appears periodically on The Group Travel Leader’s blogsite, “Are We There Yet”. 

Bob is available for contractual work in the industry and may be reached at bobho52@aol.com or by calling (435) 590-1553.

Stevens Peak

Narada Falls