Pacific Northwest Road Trip— Day 11
May 2023
Mount Rainier National Park
This was our last day before heading home. We had a lot of exploring and wanted to get an early start. The sky had cleared and there were spectacular views of Mount Rainier.
We got coffee and breakfast food at the café in the inn. If it had been warmer, we could have sat outside on the porch surrounded by beautiful views of the mountain. Too cold this morning. Maybe next time.
Since we couldn’t hike around Paradise Inn due to the deep snow, we decided to drive down to Longmire (at the entrance to the park) to get in some snow-free hiking. A zig zag drive of about 30 minutes will get you down to Longmire.
1st Stop: Trail of Shadows
A short (.7 miles) easy hike that begins across the main park road from the Longmire Museum.
The loop encircles Longmire Meadow. There are interpretive signs of the trees and plants along the way.
2nd Stop: Twin Firs Trail
This is a moderate .4-mile trail which is very scenic. You’ll see giant fir trees, but not the twin firs since one had fallen.
3rd Stop: Kautz Creek Trail
This trail is 12 miles out and back. Before you are impressed, we only hiked to where the bridge had washed out from the 2006 floods and then turned back. That was about 1 mile in so we only did 2 miles on the trail. Overall, a nice hike.
4th Stop: Wonderland Trail
This 85.8-mile hike encircles Mount Rainier. We hiked in about an hour or so and then hiked back out. I wish we’d had more time and we could have done more of this trail. The day was beautiful and the trail, at least the part we saw, was amazing.
Tips:
- Wear sturdy shoes.
- Carry water.
We ate supper in Longmire at National Park Inn. The food wasn’t very good. Had the chicken dinner.
This was the end of our Pacific Northwest Road trip. I was sad yet ready to head home the next day. We flew out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I was able to check off a lot on my bucket list; iconic haystacks in the Pacific Ocean, lighthouses, the Goonies house, beaches, Olympic National Park, Redwood National Park, Hoh Rain Forest, wineries in Oregon Willamette Valley, waterfalls (so many), and Mount Rainier.
We saw a lot.
Tips:
- See less and stay longer in some areas.
- I want to return to Mount Rainier in warmer weather and do more hikes.
I hope you too can take this journey and that my two-sense worth of advice can help you make it memorable for you.
Just keep traveling and experiencing new places, meeting people, and learning about history.
Here are some views we had inside the park when we drove around.
