September, 2025
This morning I jumped in the big white truck and left Cougar Rock Campground, heading up the road to Paradise.
Here’s a Google Earth image of the road. The summit of Mt. Rainier is not in the image, it’s to the north, above the image below. The solid YELLOW DOT in the lower left is where I’m camped at Cougar Rock. Paradise is over on the right, circled in yellow. You can see that Paradise is very close to the snow line, and to the tree line. It’s right up there on the side of this mountain, with lots of trails that head up into/onto the mountain (a few paved, most are gravel, and after not very far along those trails, they end, and then you better know where you are going, with proper clothing and equipment!).
You can see how much the road winds with twists and turns with serious switchbacks. Except for a few spots along that road where there is a straight-down drop-off on one side of the road, and no barriers of any kind to stop you from going over (yikes), it’s a really pretty drive!
The drive usually takes about 25 minutes. Here’s a video of the last 4 minutes of the drive to Paradise. Notice how small the trees have become compared to the trees in last week’s blog post. Paradise really is so close to the tree line. I’ve heard some folks say how young these trees are, that there must have been a fire here, etc. No, these trees are old; they are small partly because of the variety of evergreen tree that they are, partly because of how cold the winters are. Think about spending a winter right next to a glacier! Brrrr.
Turn your sound on and listen to the big white truck shift gears as she cruises around the corners.
After I arrived at Paradise, I found a parking spot for the big white truck, then jumped out of the truck and walked all over the place to enjoy the glorious views. It was a wonderful day, blue sky, sunshine, no wind. There were lots of us tourists out and about. I heard all manner of languages from around the world, and I talked with lots of those folks.
And, oh my, the mountain.
In these photos, I’m about 4.7 miles from the summit of Mt. Rainier as the crow flies. Click on photos to enlarge them.
Of course, it’s not allowed to walk off the path, even to take a photo of a flower, but sometimes you just can’t help yourself. 🙂 The woman in the photo above walked backwards after taking a few photos, stepping in the footprints that she had left as she walked in. Who can blame her? Not me.
Here’s a photo of some flowers, a photo taken from the path. There were so many flowers!
Then I wandered over to the Lodge … actually called Paradise Inn. Some time during the past few years (decades?), another wing was built that doubled the size. That “new” wing was purposefully built to look almost as old as the original section.
The photo below shows one of the hallways in the old section. It felt so welcoming, and warm, and comfortable, and cozy. And it was as quiet as could be.
At the end of one of the hallways (I walked up and down lots of them), I found a room with the door open, employees had obviously just been in there to clean, but when I came upon it no one was around. I peeked in. And then couldn’t stop myself from going over to the window to get this photo below. That’s the view out the window of that room. It doesn’t look at Mt. Rainier, but gosh what a view to the mountains to the south and the west. Sign me up!
Back down inside the Lodge, on the main floor, is a huge room with chairs and couches galore where you can sit and read or chat or just rest a bit. There’s also a small museum there, a deli, a gift shop, the offices, etc. I loved the lighting … huge cylinders made of paper and painted wonderfully.
This one below was my favorite.
There are two real wood-burning fireplaces in that large room, one at each end of the room. Notice the trees on the grate, and the ones behind the grate.
Eventually, I decided to head back to my campsite, but not without one last walk around the parking lot and then out a bit onto a couple of the trails there. I don’t know of anything in the world as magnificent, as old, as beautiful as this mountain, where we can drive this close to it and then walk right up next to it. It’s a volcano … it has blown it’s top (last time it did that was about 1,000 years ago) and they say it is overdue for another eruption and that it is dangerous. But to me, she’s a friend.
Great video, the mountain at practically every turn. So impressive!
Thanks Marge. 🙂
I too have heard people talk about the “small” trees up on a snowy mountain. Given the weather, the wind, the cold, the lack of food in the rocky “soil”, it’s no wonder they are smaller than similar trees at a lower elevation. Thank you for talking about that! Wonderful video! And flowers. 🙂
Great comment Ruby. Excellent explanation of why those trees are so “small”. When actually they are so large considering the environment they are in. Thank you.
Wow, that’s one windy (as in winding) road! And one quiet truck! I had to turn my sound way up to hear the shifting, but it was really cool to hear it downshift and then upshift again. I like all the little things like that that you share, makes the journey real.
Ah yes, Tim, she’s a quiet one. The engine in my truck is the largest gasoline engine that RAM produces….it’s powerful! But it’s also quiet. No roaring and other such stuff as other less powerful engines make, while they are trying to look or sound BIG. If you’re the biggest then you don’t have anything to prove. You just are what you are and you can be quiet and gentle about it. 🙂 Thanks Tim, nice comment. 🙂
The lodge is wonderful. Tell us the room number with that view. I’ll get there before you do! 🙂 The fireplace grates with trees on them are really cool. Wow, what a mountain.
No, I’m not telling you the room number! I’m first! 🙂
Actually, I don’t remember the room number, ha! So who knows who will get there first. Let’s just go and I’ll see you there Joe. 🙂
Excellent video. Great lodge photos. Do they have a dining room for real meals, or just the deli? Imagine living right next to that mountain, even if for just a few days.
Yes, they have a real dining room for the people who are staying in the Lodge rooms/accommodations. I wish I could park my travel trailer right outside their door and then use that dining room!
Ok, another, yet another, land place I need to get to. I thought I would be bored after selling my last boat. I am not bored! Thanks Ann.
Me too, Rob. I thought land-based travel would not be really that interesting compared to boating. But it’s fascinating, just different. Yep, get up there to Mt. Rainier … pick a good day.
I like the chandeliers in the Lodge, those painted paper chandeliers. Do you know who made them? What they are made out of? What paint was used? They really are gorgeous. And I like the same one you like. We are brilliant. 🙂
Bill, I have no idea who painted those chandeliers, and can’t find information online about them. Next time I’m up at Paradise and visit the Lodge, I will ask. But maybe you’ll beat me to that. 🙂 Yes, we are brilliant.
Amazing, so beautiful.
Thank you. 🙂
I’m in Oregon, as you know. 🙂 But I’ve never driven up to Mt. Rainier in Washington. It just isn’t that far away! A day trip! Ok, gonna grab some friends and head up for a day trip. How do we check the weather? Can there be any assurance that we’ll have the nice days that you are having on this trip? What does it cost to get into the park? Etc. Wow, your photos are wonderful. Thank you!
Hi Fran. Good questions. The best weather forecaster that I know of is Accuweather. And yet, that being said, the weather up around the top of Mt. Rainier, one of the highest mountains in North America, cannot easily be predicted. I’ve started driving up there with friends, when we could see the mountain perfectly! from many miles away, but by the time we got up there, an hour or two later, it was socked in, clouded in, and we couldn’t see the mountain even from the usual closeup spots. And the opposite too has happened … first clouds from a distance, but as we closed in, the skies around the mountain cleared up and it was glorious. The cost to enter Mt Rainier National Park varies … without an annual pass, it’s usually $30 per vehicle. You CANNOT pay by cash, you must use a credit or debit card. Ask me anything else you’d like, I’ll tell you what I know. Gosh it would be good to see you … if you and your friends come up, let me know!
Thanks for the photo compliments. 🙂
Such a spectacular drive! Though I was surprised to see such a high quality road based on your map – talk about winding! And it does look like you’re driving right up to the base of that mountain. I never dreamt you’d be able to drive that close!
And, the road is open 24×7 year round! Well, except for occasional closures for a severe winter storm when snow-removal is needed from the roads. On the other hand, even with that road kept in such good condition, I’m not sure I’d want to drive up there when there is freezing rain on the road, and no barrier along the drop-off side of the road, just sayin’. Yikes. And not all of the facilities up there are open year-round, tho some are. Lots of folks go snow-hiking in the winter up there because it is so accessible by vehicle. We love our mountain. 🙂