Mount Rainier National Park

Visiting Mount Rainier National Park was definitely one of the highlights of the summer of 2021. It started with a gorgeous drive from Yakima on the White Pass Scenic Byway and ended with our first views of Mount Rainier. We stayed in a fabulous natural setting at Elkamp East Creek in Mineral, WA, about 15 minutes from park. The sites were enormous! We could see one RV while we were sitting outside at our fire pit and one RV when we were inside our RV. It was the most peaceful place we have stayed so far, with a large open area for walking on trails, through a meadow, or sitting by the creek. The only drawback is that it did not have full hookups, which was not much of a hardship.

Our first hike was in the Sunrise area on the Sourdough trail to Frozen Lake, which was spectacular. We kind of stumbled on the Palisade Trail when we stopped a a view point, and finally saw our first Pica. So cute!!! There was some road construction and closures on the roads, so we were flexible and went to Box Canyon and were not disappointed. We hiked part or all of so many trails; Skyline, Wonderland, Twin Firs, Snow & Bench, Alta Vista to name a few. Throughout the week, we hiked or drove to viewpoints to see many waterfalls throughout the park: Carter, Cap, Christine, Myrtle, Silver and Narada Falls to name a few. Just gorgeous and wonderful to experience in person! Paradise was probably our favorite area. Hikes there were limited, even in late July, due to snow. The Longmire area had an interesting hike called the “Trail of the Shadows” with mineral springs and a historic cabin. The park did have a gravel road, “Westside”, that is closed off to cars, which I was able to bike. It was another cool way to enjoy this beautiful park. We had such a great time and got to see almost everything we wanted, except for the “Grove of the Patriarchs Trail”, which is temporarily closed. If you get a chance to visit this park, it is definitely worth it!

Off to Salem, Oregon to visit family!