Day Trip to Mount Rainer National Park

Spontaneity is the best kind of adventure 

We were camping about an hour west of the SW entrance to Mount Rainer National Park for 4 days.  We hadn't really talked about going to check the park out prior to being at our campground.  After talking to one of the rangers at our RV Park Thursday evening we decided to make the trip Friday morning and put our work stuff on hold.  

The drive into the park and towards the area that we hiked was pretty amazing in itself.  We made a couple stops at some overlooks.  

We pulled off at the first pull out that had a really good view of the mountain.  That is Eli telling us that he wants to climb that mountain!  After that we came to Narada Falls.  It took a little bit of a hike to get to the overlook but was worth it.  The falls were probably a few hundred feet tall and flowed down into a gorge that ran down the mountain.  

After that stop we made our way up to the area called Paradise.  We stopped a picnic area just down from the lodge and had some lunch.  Salads have been our go to travel lunch.  They are so easy to pack up and we know what we are getting versus leaving ourselves open to museum and park cafes, which who knows if I'll be able to find any gluten free options.  

Now that we were fueled up, we made our way up a bit further to the official Paradise Visitor Center and Lodge.  Looking at the map our initial plan was just to do about a 1 mile round trip hike out to Alta Vista.  We made it that far and then decided to keep going... then keep going!!!  Our 1 mile hike turned into about 4 total.  We made it all the way out to Panorama Point which was totally worth it.  The view were incredible and absolutely breathtaking!  

Alta Vista Trail

The first 1/8 of the hike where Eli wanted to walk

What the other 3.5 miles looked like

Catching my breath

Panorama @ Panorama Point

Almost 4 miles later....we snacked on coffee, ice cream and protein bars and Eli was wiped out!! We did check out the gift shop and I think for the first time in our 9 year marriage we bought matching shirts!  

Matching shirts... how do they look?

This unexpected trip was such a treat.  We aren't really the hiking outdoorsy type but really enjoyed this adventure.  Who knows... we might end up becoming more of true campers as our adventures continue!