Mount Rainier National Park was the 5th national park,established in 1899, and was designed by engineers to give the visitor a great experience, and not designed because it was the quickest, easiest or cheapest to build. Everything in the park was well thought out, and for that reason, part of it is in the National Register of Historic Places. The Longmire section has the museum and buildings from back in the day. Even the roads were built keeping in mind the experience of the visitor. They were not just built because it was cheaper or easier to go one way or another. Going around a bend and seeing a great view is no accident. Very nice planning!
This park is huge, so we decided to focus on one area of the park to explore. Paradise, the most visited area in the park, is world-famous for its views and wildflower meadows. We were incredibly lucky in that the day we traveled here, the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining all day. This is unusual, since the average snowfall is 680 inches, and the average rainfall is 126 inches per year, so the odds are that it will be cloudy or precipitating on any given day. We were able to clearly see the top of Rainier, an active volcano with about 25 glaciers. Not only that, but the wildflowers were in BLOOM! If you are anywhere near Rainier,
Go.
There.
Now! You won't be disappointed!! We are not sure when the season is for wildflowers (mid July?), but apparently they bloomed early this year. For more information on the park, click
here.
The drive through the park is beautiful; old growth forests and mountain scenery for most of the drive from the entrance to the subalpine meadow area. Just beautiful! (Remember, this is a very well planned park)! We were there early in the morning to avoid the crowds as much as possible. As one fellow visitor told us, the park is not far from Seattle or Tacoma, and on a clear day when the meadows are in bloom.....people head on over in droves for this amazing treat from nature! Glad we got a parking space ;)
Along the way to the Paradise Section of the park, we stopped at several pullouts to enjoy the view or the waterfall. The land is pristine here, even with the large amount of visitors!
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| lovely waterfall |
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| heading to Paradise |
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| close up .... love the blue ice |
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| beautiful views....but pay attention! |
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| top of the falls from the parking lot (if you don't go down the path to the bottom, this is all you see) |
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| top of the falls |
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| feeding the falls |
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| just beautiful-view from the bottom of the path |
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| catch the rainbow |
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| gorgeous |
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| you have to walk down there for the exquisite view of the falls-so worth it! |
Heading up to Paradise, Mt. Rainier was getting larger and larger! I was able to zoom in on some of the glacial features on the mountaintop. WOW! What forces of nature here. The volcanoes form the mountains, and the glaciers take them away. There were many streams with glacial silt in them...looked a lot like scenes in Alaska or the Canadian Rockies. Just magnificent.
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| heading on up |
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| the glacier is getting bigger and bigger |
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| and it is melting |
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| lots of thick blue ice |
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| not sure how thick it is |
Once we got to Paradise, we knew how it got its name. Wow oh wow! We were so lucky to be here when the wildflowers were blooming. The fragrant air, the incredible views and the hiking paths were top notch. Awe-inspiring!
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| I give you......Mt. Rainier |
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| and the meadows full of wildflowers |
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| 'nuff said |
After checking in with the ranger, we got a hiking map and tips for some "easy" trails with good views. Frankly, I don't think there are any bad views in the area! Anyway, we took a few hours and really enjoyed hiking and gawking at the flowers, the views and the special place that is Mt. Rainier. As one ranger we met earlier in the year said, "they aren't national parks for nothin' ". WOW!
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| all of the trails are connected so its hard to get lost here (i think) |
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| a look back at the Visitor Center |
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| already a view that is amazing |
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| can you smell that? |
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| view across to some waterfalls |
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| so many waterfalls |
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| the trails go up and down, and most of the trails we were on were paved |
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| look at that view! |
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| the glacial melt |
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| such simple pleasures |
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| enjoying the walk |
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| a park resident |
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| another resident enjoying a snack |
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| wow...so many flowers! |
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| can't stop photographing them! |
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| we see you Mr. Marmot! |
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| ah! |
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| speechless |
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| is this amazing or what??? |
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| splendid |
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| i think i can walk here forever... |
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| yup....Paradise! |
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| exquisite |
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| we want to head to the waterfall |
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| is this amazing or what? |
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| wild! |
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| all so interesting |
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| simple pleasure! |
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| the beauty of nature (though don't let that volcanic mountain fool you)! |
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| heading to the waterfall |
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| there is the top of it...a few feet away |
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| oh sweet! |
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| lots of busy bees here |
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| such a variety....and they all get along together nicely....we humans should take note! |
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| love this |
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| the Myrtlefalls.....money shot view! |
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| wish you could hear the rushing water and smell those gorgeous wildflowers |
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| a pretty steep climb from viewing the waterfall (45% grade????) |
Once we completed the Myrtlefalls section of the hiking loop, we tried a connecting trail to get to the loop for the Nisqually Glacier view. All of the trails intersect at some point with another trail, so if you have a map, its hard to get totally lost. We were focused on the easy hikes with a great view, but the area was so astoundingly beautiful, I think we could have hiked there for a long long time. Lots of hills and altitude though...so best to take it slow and "smell the roses wildflowers". We did just that!
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| the hills are alive....with the sound of music! |
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| beautiful views everywhere you look |
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| sweet and fragrant |
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| nice variety |
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| red white and blue....America the beautiful! |
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| going up and up! |
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| just look at that glacier |
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| cool |
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| another great view |
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| this place is amazing! |
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| connecting trail to the glacier trail |
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| trail through and around the meadows |
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| technicolor....not adjusted at all with photoshop |
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| here's a volcanic rock now |
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| this is outstanding...pinch me |
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| yeah....this is totally amazing and we are so very lucky! |
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| the beauty of nature |
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| so many hillsides of flowers |
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| incredible day we are having here |
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| Can you believe this? It really is Paradise! |
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| a less traveled trail |
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| more views |
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| stunning |
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| such clear water |
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| another new to us species |
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| so pretty |
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| looks like a pinwheel |
The connecting trail was magnificent too...so many great views and the flowers! WOW! We weren't sure if we were going the right way though, because we didn't see too many people on this trail. Seems the waterfall trail is the most popular, and the easiest too! Easy for being in the mountains, that is!
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| the scenery makes the hills a little easier |
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| heading over to the glacier foot |
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| just so beautiful here |
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| heading to Nisqually Glacier |
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| the glacier is melting |
We found the trailhead and knew we were on the right track now. Haha. This part of the trail was a bit steeper, and going down was so easy. We knew the return would not be as easy, but it sure was delightful anyway. The flowers were just everywhere, and the views incredible. The entire time we were in the park!
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| so special, no matter where you look |
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| Keep out Tom! We have a glacier to visit! |
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| fields and fields of flowers |
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| what a gift from nature |
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| ah...nice shade here |
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| don't look down Susie |
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| outstanding views all around |
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| just beautiful |
Reaching the viewpoint for Nisqually Glacier, we stood and gawked at examined the glacier a little further. The waterfalls and rivers from the glacial melt are numerous, and are a major force shaping the area.
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| Nisqually Glacier..see the melt in the middle? |
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| amazing view |
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| hey...what are you eating Tom? |
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| waterfalls from the glacial melt |
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| stunning |
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| so loud too |
Walking back up the trail,
we I concentrated on the surroundings to make the trek a little easier. It really was so beautiful. I'm not 100% certain, but I think the wildflowers bloomed early this year at the park. I will say it again....we were so lucky!
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| moss grows here too |
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| so pretty |
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| just a little more "up"....hahahaha |
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| the view of the stunning wildflowers never gets old (for us) |
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| sweet |
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| what an amazing day |
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| its just so beautiful here |
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| another view driving back |
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| glacial river |
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| old growth forest...on the drive out of the park |
Being that is was late in the afternoon, and we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us, we left the park (after viewing the movie at the Visitor Center!) and did not explore any of the other areas of the park. Maybe someday we will return for another spectacular visit. This place was beautiful!
