Trip Report: a day trip from Seattle to Mt Rainier

Mount Rainier (pronounced ‘ran-eer’, not ‘rain-ee-er’ as I had originally thought) is an active stratovolcano about an hour’s drive from Seattle. As a huge volcano fan I just had to visit! However, it’s not easy to get there without a car, and so I took a full-day trip to Mt Rainier (much like I did with my visit to Snoqualmie Falls). It was absolutely the best thing I could have done – there was no way I would have seen half as much as I did otherwise. 

I started off my day with an early (but not too early) pick-up from a nearby hotel in Seattle, and after a brief supermarket stop to get provisions we were on our way. As with Yosemite, I love how the urban centre gives way to countryside, and then lush forest. If you are visiting Mount Rainier on a tour by the way, your itinerary might vary depending on things like traffic, and what time of year you’re visiting, too. A lot of places are closed to vehicles in the winter months so make sure to check before you book!

(This mini-trip report isn’t sponsored by the way, and all views are my own. For full disclosure though, if you click and make a purchase through some of the adverts on this page I may earn a small commission. This doesn’t come at any additional cost to you. Many thanks for your support, I really appreciate it!)

 

See some cool engineering at Longmire

Our first stop off was Longmire, which is home to a hotel (the National Park Inn), a small museum, and information centre. We didn’t have much time here – just enough for a loo break – but I managed to briefly see the oldie-style petrol pumps at the front of the museum.

 

 

Even in the short amount of time we had, we also got to see the Longmire suspension bridge, a huge structure made of timber. 

 

 

Walk alongside the Nisqually River

The Nisqually river originates from the glaciers of Mount Rainier before it eventually makes its way into Puget Sound. (A ‘sound’ is just the name for a body of water that is connected to the sea – I hadn’t heard of it before so had to look it up).

Although in Summer the river wasn’t huge, I was blown away by how beautiful it was, with the river running through this landscape of boulders and being surrounded by evergreen forest. 

From there, we went on to Paradise. 

 

Hike to a waterfall from Paradise

At Paradise there is parking, a visitor centre, cafeterias and an inn. From Paradise there are many different hiking routes you can take, however as we were short on time (we had just under two hours) there were three different routes recommended to us – Myrtle Falls (35 mins), Nisqually Vista (45 mins and most accessible for all) and Alta Vista (1.25 hours).

I took the Skyline trail to Myrtle Falls, partially because I was on my own, and partially because it was the shortest route. However, I also picked it because there was an ‘end’ destination i.e. the falls! It was an easy route, albeit tiring because of the heat.

Myrtle Falls was so picturesque, and you can get a fantastic shot of the falls with Mount Rainier in the background. After I’d seen the falls I sat for a little while and ate some lunch before walking back. There were so many beautiful flowers along the route. 

 

 

After that, I accidentally ended up in Paradise Inn, thinking it was the Henry M Jackson Visitor Centre. I loved the rustic feel of the interior, with the classic timber frame, stone hearth, and patterned carpets. There was a small shop selling all sorts of goods – hats, t-shirts, and all sorts of miscellaneous souvenirs. I got a patch of Mount Rainier which I plan on stitching onto a hat. 

 

 

Learn more at the Henry M Jackson Visitor Centre

At the Henry M Jackson Visitor Centre you can get a bite to eat, and upstairs there is an exhibit about Mount Rainier (which, as a geography nerd, I loved!) There’s also a small shop, although it was quite claustrophobic so I didn’t spend long there. 

From there, we left Paradise for the last couple of stops on our trip.

 

Be wowed at Reflection Lake

Reflection Lake was the absolute highlight of the day. It was just like the photo above- no editing required in the slightest! Although you couldn’t really see a reflection it didn’t really matter – the deep blue of the sky and lake book-ended the snow of Mount Rainier and the lush forest perfectly.

It’s worth checking in advance whether the route is open or not as it does close for most of the year- you can do so here. 

 

See the twin waterfalls at Narada Falls

One of our final few stops included Narada Falls, which was an easy 5-10 minute walk from the car park. When we visited there was even a mini-rainbow! (Pro tip – if you put your iPhone camera on ‘Live mode’ and then change the setting to ‘long exposure’ you can get a shot with some velvety smooth water).

From there, we headed back home to Seattle and were back for around 6pm. I slept SO well that evening! 

To find out more about what you can see and do in and around Seattle, you can find my 4-day Seattle itinerary here, as well as my mini-report on the half-day trip I took to Snoqualmie Falls, and my visit to some of Seattle’s museums (and the Space Needle) here!