While planning this trip, I knew Mount Rainier would end up being one of my favorites, and it was. Getting there was simple, the drive was beautiful, and everything felt bigger and more open than it looked on the map.
Paradise Inn is a beautiful old lodge with huge rustic log beams, dark wood everywhere, and that historic look you’d expect from a building that gets buried under dozens of feet of snow every winter. It reminded me of The Shining.When they reopen in spring, crews have to come in through an upper access point because the ground-level doors are sealed shut. There was a sign saying the inn can see over 90 feet of snow during the winter, and there’s still over eight thousand feet of elevation from there to the top of Rainier, if you can imagine. It’s one of three lodging sites within the park, and the closest one to the base of the mountain.
The night we arrived, the entire Paradise area had no running water because a storm wrecked their filtration system a week or so before. The bathrooms, restaurant, and any water source was all shut down. Only porta-potties outside the inn entrance. Having little to no service on the drive from Port Angeles to the Paradise corridor, I missed the call they sent that morning about the outage.
Around 1:30 AM, the guy at the front desk told us the only working showers were at Cougar Rock Campground, twenty minutes back down the only road in the park. Ironically, the roads are some of the windiest we drove on the whole trip, making even a short drive a long one. So we drove there at 2 AM, checked every bathroom building, and found out they didn’t have showers at all — just sinks, toilets, and locked facilities shut down for the season. By 4 AM, after circling the campground like fools with headlamps, it was obvious the showers never existed. The next morning, still filthy and a little pissed, we moved to Nisqually Lodge just outside the park, which actually had running water and let us sleep.
With some energy back, we drove up to Paradise again to start the Skyline Trail, one of the parks most iconic routes, and that’s when Rainier finally showed what it was. Myrtle Falls, Edith Creek, and then the steady climb with the mountain towering behind everything. Even with little sleep the night before, it was one of my favorite hikes of the trip. The whole trail felt open, quiet, and huge, and the views went on forever. Hiking up to nearly 7,000 feet, we stood next to a small leftover patch of snow.
Myrtle Falls and Reflection Lake
After Paradise, we drove across the park toward the Sunrise side — completely different vibe. Quieter, calmer, and the sky was clearer on that side. We stopped at every turnout, passed miles of forest, and watched long stretches of road curve along cliffs and valleys.
The Fremont Firepower Lookout hike was windy at the top with basically white-out conditions, clouds moving past like fast fog and points with no vision beyond 10 feet. On the way up there were clear views in the valley as we passed Frozen Lake, a domestic water supply that was partially glazed with ice on the way back down. Going up was steady incline and open views looking back towards Sunrise area and Rainier. The valley would appear for a moment and then cloud over again. On a clear day, you get a full view of Rainier.
At the fire tower, two other hikers took shelter from the wind on the side of the structure. Olan and I joined them and made quick friends.
After passing frozen lake again on the way down, we got our headlamps out and snow began to fall. From fall to winter within moments.
We stayed at LOGE Alta Crystal on this side of the park in the Sunrise corridor, in a cabin called the Tacoma Cabin. It had a fireplace, a lofted bedroom, and a private hot tub on the back deck. After driving and hiking all day, sitting in that hot tub at night was one of the best parts of the trip. Quiet, dark, and surrounded by trees.
We originally planned to hike a longer trail, but with the wildfire smoke drifting in and not starting until later in the afternoon, we chose a shorter trail with views just as good. Dege Peak at sunset was stunning, with huge glacial fields visible on Rainier and the Fremont lookout way off in the distance. We sat up on the ridge while elk were calling somewhere down in the valley. The shadows stretched across the mountain, and Rainier glowed orange behind the peaks. Simple, calm, and one of those moments that made the entire trip worth it.
Rainier ended up being exactly what I hoped it would be — big, quiet, and completely different from Olympic even though it was a couple hours away. Even with the 2 AM shower hunt and the Paradise Inn chaos, it became one of the places I kept thinking about long after we left.
