Nat Mount Rainier is one of the most popular National Parks in the United States. If you are like me, you have been planning to visit the park for years! This past year, I pulled the trigger on a Southwest Airlines deal and made a weekend trip to the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, the trip did not go according to plan. In this post, I will share 3 big mistakes to avoid when visiting Mount Rainier. And have also included tips for hiking Skyline Loop!
Brief History
Mount Rainier became a National Park in 1899 making the fifth park in the United States. The area was first protected with the formation of the Pacific Forest Reserve in 1893. This area encompassed Mount Rainier and about 35 square miles on one side of the summit.
Growing interest in the regions potential for becoming a popular tourist destination, led to the passing of the bill creating the National Park.
You can read more about the history of Mount Rainier on the National Park Service website!
Location from Seattle
If you are coming from Seattle, Mount Rainier’s summit is about 60 miles as the crow flies but traveling by car will take you about two hours to the most popular entrance. This entrance, Nisqually, is located on the southwest side of the park.
Visiting in peak season will mean LOTS of crowds, and lots of vehicles. Therefore, renting a smaller vehicle will be the most ideal for parking. But if you are interested in renting a camper van or RV like we did, you can easily book one through Outdoorsy!
Best time of the year to visit: Summer
Mount Rainier’s peak season is similar to the rest of the Pacific Northwest: summer. During the summer, there is less cloud coverage, fewer rainy days, AND the wildflowers are in bloom. This was one of my biggest reasons for visiting the park!
In my opinion, the best months to visit Rainier is from mid-June to mid-August. I visited the park at the end of August and unfortunately, most of the flowers were already gone. But we still saw some beautiful flowers along Skyline Loop!
Mistake to avoid when planning your trip
When planning my trip to Rainier, I checked the weather often. I planned my days in the park around the best travel times to hit Olympic National Park and the Pacific Coast. However, since we only had a handful of days in the Pacific Northwest, I did not build days into my itinerary to account for surprise weather.
Unfortunately, the day we planned to hike Skyline Loop, it was extremely overcast and rainy.
Therefore…
To Avoid This Mistake: MAKE SURE TO BUILD IN MULTIPLE DAYS TO SEE THE PARK!
The very next day, it was sunny and beautiful. But we only booked one night at Cougar Campground — since booking sites within the National Parks can be incredibly difficult to secure. More in the next section on this.
Do not try to squeeze a lot into a few days at the parks you want to prioritize. Because I failed to plan my trip with flexible extra days, I still have not seen Mount Rainier. I know, I’m heartbroken, too. I will have to plan another trip in the future!
Mistake to avoid when booking campgrounds
If you are wanting to book a campsite at one of the locations within the National Park, you will have to book it through recreation.gov. They do have an app and it is incredibly easier to manage bookings this way!
Due to the popularity of some parks and locations, securing a site can be incredibly difficult. Not all of the sites may be available to book when you first start planning your trip. Some of the reasons for this can include: weather/damage to a specific site, accessibility, vehicle size (i.e. campervan versus tent camping), and popularity.
Some of the sites will only be available to the public for booking days before your planned stay. For my trip, I found the sites that I wanted to book in advance and set a reminder for when they would open up to the public for reservations. I was fully prepared at 9am, seven days before our trip, to login and book the site.
I had it in my cart, and hesitated to send a message to my friend who was traveling with me, and guess what, someone snagged the spot before I could finalize my reservation! And this was 9:02am… within two minutes, the site I wanted was gone.
Consider alternative campsites
Since the sites go fast, so you will need to be fully prepared to secure the spots as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I was able to find another site that would fit our 22′ campervan (that we rented from Outdoorsy) that I grabbed as quickly as I could.
However, it is not at all inconvenient to reserve a campsite outside of the Park’s limits. Honestly, I would recommend simply to avoid the headache.
In conclusion…
To Avoid This Mistake: DO NOT HESTITATE TO BOOK THE SITES YOU WANT!
This was an unfortunate mistake that you can avoid by properly preparing and having a back up plan if your preferred site gets taken.
Mistake to avoid when hiking Skyline Loop
My friend and I chose to hike Skyline Loop for the incredible views that the trail offers. Through the 5.5 mile roundtrip hike on the south side of Mount Rainer, you will see waterfalls, meadows full of wildflowers, snow-capped peaks in many directions, and LOTS of marmots.
The trailhead is located beside the Jackson Visitor Center making it super easy to locate after you’ve stamped your National Parks Passport! (If you don’t have a National Parks Passport, then you definitely need one – they are so fun!).
Skyline Loop is one of Mount Rainier’s most popular destinations so crowds are always expected. The initial mile or so – both directions – is paved, but the middle portion of the hike is not. It is classified by the National Parks Association as a “moderate hike”, but I found it to be a bit more difficult than that!
How to hike the trail
It is recommended by many to hike the trail clockwise due to the steep elevation gain. With a past knee surgery, this was DEFINITELY the right call for me. Taking a left at the first fork upon starting the hike, you will walk a steeper incline but for a shorter distance.
Unfortunately, we only planned one day to hike Mount Rainier and this was a mistake. Even after planning this trip around a weekend with clear skies, by the time we arrived, it was cloudy and misting. We chose to hike the trial anyway because we wanted to see whatever we could. The rain ended up soaking us from head to toe, and our water resistant backpacks didn’t hold up as well as we had hoped.
Therefore…
To Avoid This Mistake: PLAN FOR BAD WEATHER AND ADJUST ACCORDINGLY.
Avoid this mistake by ensuring you have plenty of days to see the park and packing waterproof jackets and hiking packs!
Also, if you are interested in upgrading your devices before your trip, read the Ultimate Digital Gear for Beginner Travelers for details on the gadgets I use to capture all my experiences!
