One more quick question. Are there actual roads inside the park, or just all walking/hiking trails? It's hard looking at the maps to tell which are trails and which are roads.

Yes, there are roads within the park. I don't know what you are looking at, so can't comment to help. But yes, there are roads as well as numerous trails. Have you taken a look at www.visit rainier.com ? That is a good source for first time visitors. Then for more trail information, www.wta.org is the go to for all trails within Washington state.

Thanks so much for the help. I have booked 2 nights at Paradise Inn and can't wait to explore.

You will be very happy there! If you come through the Nisqually entrance by Ashford either coming or going, be sue to stop at Copper Creek Inn for their blackberry pie. They even sell pies to go, or even slices to go. That is always a must for us, and I brought a pie home last month after we spent a weekend hiking there. If you need a good meal, they are great, as is the Basecamp Bar and Grill at Whittakers in Ashford. Just thought I would throw those out to you just in case:)

Thank you, I am always up for a good slice or whole pie. I surely appreciate all the help from this community on these plans.
Now on to plans for the Oregon coast and Crater Lake/Bend.

Those are great places too! I look forward to reading about your plans:)

Here is the map that the Park gives out for day-hiking around Paradise: https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvis...Trails_508.pdf

At Paradise, we like to walk out to Glacier Vista and Panorama Point. They got those names for a reason!

And, here is the day-hike map for Sunrise: https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvis...ils_access.pdf

At Sunrise, we like to take the short climb up to Sourdough Ridge, then walk along the ridge before looping back after passing Frozen Lake.

I also recommend a quick stop at Box Canyon, between Paradise and the Stevens Canyon entrance. Most visitors skip this site, but we have always loved it. A slot canyon hundreds of feet deep, and maybe 20' wide, with a raging river in the bottom.

Those are good maps, and will be found at the visitors centers right there by the parking lots. They are really good at being super cautious, for instance Panorama point and Pinnacle Peak are listed as strenuous, where we think of them much differently. Pinnacle I would say is easy, and Panorama, if you are doing the entire loop up along high skyline, would be easy to moderate. But we are hikers, so it all depends on what one is used to. So I am just saying that the map is very cautious as they know many visitors want to see the area, but may have no experience with hiking, or none at elevation.

One thing to keep in mind too is that many of the trails will still be under snow at this time. Panorama, definitely, and you may need micro spikes. IMO the best place to get real world conditions and to read trip reports from those that have been there, is www.wta.org as I have mentioned before. You can read the trip reports for other years in June and July, for instance, and that will give you an idea of what to expect on the trail.

Thanks so much. This information is a great help.

Traveling Hood River to Paradise Inn at Mt Rainier, which is the better route?
1. 141 to Randle, 12 to Packwood then North through Ashford to the Nisqually Entrance.
2. I-84 to I-5 to 12 to 7 through Ashford.
We will have toured the Columbia Gorge during our 3 night stay at Hood River, so that is not a factor. I might also add that Mt St Helens will be a stop on our way back from Seattle to the Oregon coast part of the trip so no need to stop there on the way.

Hood River to Paradise Inn at Mt Rainier
 

Traveling Hood River to Paradise Inn at Mt Rainier, which is the better route?
1. 141 to Randle, 12 to Packwood then North through Ashford to the Nisqually Entrance.
2. I-84 to I-5 to 12 to 7 through Ashford.
We will have toured the Columbia Gorge during our 3 night stay at Hood River, so that is not a factor. I might also add that Mt St Helens will be a stop on our way back from Seattle to the Oregon coast part of the trip so no need to stop there on the way.

Two threads have been merged.

Moderator 4

Actually my preference would be a third alternative, as shown on this map - east to Maryhill, with a possible stop at the marvelous Maryhill Museum, and the nearby weird Stonehenge replica that overlooks the Columbia, then north on US 97 over Satus Pass and through terrific "old west" country on the Yakama Reservation to US 12, then west to the drop-dead gorgeous Stevens Canyon Road, with a possible stop at the Grove of the Patriarchs, before ending at Paradise. It's almost like a mini-tour of the region, highly recommended.

On the Stevens Canyon Road you'll pass the Reflection Lakes just before arriving at Paradise - some of the best roadside views in the national park IMO.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...79da29e1ac.jpg

By the way, a little north of Goldendale you'll pass a Greek Orthodox monastery, St. John's, who run a bakery and small gift shop. Stop if it's open. You'll thank me later.

Thanks Gardyloo. I had looked at that route before, but it is 40 mins longer than #1 and about 1hr 30 mins longer that #2. Since we only have 2 nights at the park I'm not sure we want to take that much extra time.

Is the route #1 a decent road to travel?

The Maryhill Museum and the Stonehenge Memorial are worth the detour and extra time IMO. I was typing a response when the Mod merged the threads. I was also hoping that you would go east to US 97 and see some of the high desert on the way to Yakima. I do remember seeing elk crossing US 12 in downtown Packwood.

Unfortunately Maryhill appears to be closed on Tuesday, the day we will be driving through. Another thing is that on our last morning, leaving Paradise lodge, we will be driving Stevens Canyon road up to Sunrise Visitor center to check out that area before heading to Sammammish Wa.

Do you still advise the route through Yakima with these things in mind?

There will probably still be lots of snow on trails
 

Here are photos I took yesterday in the Cascades, at Snoqualmie Pass, at an elevation of almost 4,000 ft. It has been a snowy Winter, and we got a foot of snow in the mountains last week. So, you should expect snow on the trails at places like Paradise and Sunrise.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eaadae6a7.jpeg
Summit Central ski area, at Snoqualmie Pass
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ab3702bfe.jpeg
Snoqualmie Pass
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...93ae6f327.jpeg
Snoqualmie Pass

Road trip finished. A big thanks for the help.
 

We have just returned from our trip and had a fantastic time. Our 2 nights at Paradise lodge were so delightful and the weather was great.

One comment about getting from Hood River to Paradise lodge though. We took google maps route on 141 to Randle and it was in places a horrible road, bringing us to a crawl for an extended period of time. We had no cell service most of the time and felt very uneasy. We passed on 2 cars the entire time on 141. If we had car trouble we would have been stranded for no telling how long. I would never travel that road.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

p s. While we didn’t see a lot of green in The Palouse, we did have beautiful yellows and don’t regret our timing so as to enjoy Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens.