We had planned five days of hiking in Mount Rainier National Park starting with a visit to the Sunrise Area. Those plans fell through when we experienced a flat tire on Sunday’s drive to Walupt Falls (post). In 2024 the park instituted a timed entry reservation system to help alleviate congestion in parts of the park. In 2025 the Sunrise Area was the only one subject to timed entry. Timed entry reservations are required from 7am to 5pm. Reservations are not required outside of that window however and given our penchant for early starts our plan was to arrive well before 7am.
Instead of heading to the park first thing Monday morning we were waiting for 7am when Rod’s Tire Source in Randle, WA opened. Thankfully not only did they have tires in stock that would fit our Subaru they could get us in just after 8am. That meant we should have plenty of time to still get one of our other planned hikes in. We made the 14-mile drive to Randle and the folks at Rod’s were all ready for us at 8am. They had us on our way shortly after 8:30am, and after stopping by our room to grab our packs we headed for the Paradise Area of Mt. Rainier.
The Paradise Area is possibly the most popular area at Mt. Rainier and had been subject to the timed entry reservations in 2024. Due to road and pavement projects in 2025 timed entry wasn’t applied to Paradise in 2025. By the time we reached the trailhead parking area at 9:45am it was full. Luckily there was space along a pullout between this lot and the picnic area (the picnic area acts as overflow parking).
Sign for the picnic area from the pullout.
We headed toward the picnic area the crossed the road to a set of stairs that led to the lower parking area.
The forecast had been for partly sunny skies, but the parking area was socked in with fog. We hoped that it might burn off at some point, but regardless we were excited to be getting a hike in at all given the tire issue. We stopped at a signboard and confirmed out planned route which was to hike the Skyline Trail counterclockwise.
Because we started from the lower lot we needed to take the Alta Vista Trail to the Skyline Trail.
The wildflowers were amazing from the start, and we couldn’t imagine what it would have looked like if the fog wasn’t limiting our sight distance.
When we arrived at the junction with the Avalanche Lily Trail a family mentioned that there was a doe bedded down a couple hundred feet to the left, so we detoured that way.
The doe bedded down in the wildflowers.
We kept the proper distance from the doe and used the zoom on the camera to get some photos.
After a few pics we headed back to the junction and took the Avalanche Lily Trail toward the Jackson Visitors Center where we picked up the Skyline Trail.
Jackson Visitors Center
We headed toward Myrtle Falls to do the loop counterclockwise.
Paradise Inn
A big patch of partridgefoot amid other wildflowers.
Arnica and multiple other flowers.
Shooting star
Mostly bistort
We detoured down the short path to the Myrtle Falls Viewpoint before continuing on the loop.
Myrtle Falls
Edith Creek above Myrtle Falls.
Pink monkeyflower and a speedwell.
A white field of valerian (and some bistort).
There are a number of trails crisscrossing the Paradise Area allowing for shorter loops and a lot of exploration.
Spirea
Yellow penstemon
Coiled lousewort
Arrowleaf groundsel
Bird’s beak lousewort
It wasn’t all wildflowers, but it mostly was.
Sickle-top lousewort
We ran into a small crowd gathered below a talus slope. Most of them were watching a hoary marmot but there was also a pika for those who spotted the small animal.
Pika
Marmot
The marmot was busy looking for brunch.
Tall mountain bluebells
After watching the critters for a few minutes we continued on past the parade of flowers.
Fireweed
Thistle
There were so many flowers it was impossible to catch everything but on this hillside we spotted some yellow paintbrush.
Paradise River
Paintbrush in front of western pasque flowers.
Columbine and yellow willow-herb
Pink mountain heather and lupine
Sparrow with a snack.
Bracted lousewort
Cusick’s speedwell
Golden-mantled ground squirrel.
Despite the many reminders not to feed the wildlife we witnessed several people unable to follow this simple rule (at least one of which got bit).
Phlox
Beargrass
Elephant’s head
Monkeyflower
Bird and some sort of willowherb (tiny pink flowers on the right).
Bird’s beak lousewort and white mountain heather.
First patch of snow along the trails.
Pussytoes
Cinquefoil
Western pasque flower in bloom.
Saxifrage
Marsh marigold
Catchfly
Orange agoseris
Pink monkeyflower
Littleflower penstemon
As we neared the highpoint of the loop the fog began to give way.
Golden fleabane
When the trail gained a ridge there was a slightly obscured view of Mt. Raininer.
I took a seat on a rock and watched the changing views while I waited for Heather to catch up.
The Goat Rocks on the left with Mt. Adams on the right.
I was not alone at the viewpiont.
When Heather got to my rock I left my pack with her and continued up the ridge to McClure Rock.
McClure Rock straight ahead.
Penstemon
There was a little more elevation involved than I had anticipated.
Aster and partridgefoot
Giant cairn on McClure Rock.
Climber’s trail heading toward the mountain.
A look at people on the snowfield above.
Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams from McClure Rock.
Bismark Peak to the right with Mount Aix behind Nelson Ridge.
Pussypaws
Dwarf lupine
I returned to Heather and we continued on the loop which quickly reentered the fog.
Raven
Goldenrod
Penstemon
The Panaroma Point Overlook was crowded despite being in the fog.
Back into the flowers.
Arnica, mountain heather, and lupine.
Bog laurel
Gentians
Saxifrage
The only snow remaining over the trail.
Lots of marmots along the route.
Fleabane and mountain heather
Fleabane and paintbrush
We decided to leave the Skyline Trail when we came to a junction with the Dead Horse Creek Trail
The stroller was empty, not sure what the story with that was.
The Dead Horse Creek Trail was much less used which provided a little more solitude as we headed downhill. There was not a noticeable drop off in flowers though.
Not sure what this chipmunk was eating but it wasn’t from us or any other person we saw.
We paused to watch four marmots on a rock, two of which were wrestling.
We stayed right here on the Dead Horse Creek Trail.
Flowers along Dead Horse Creek.
Nuthatch
As we neared the end of trail we spotted another deer bedded down amid the flowers.
Buck in the wildflowers
The lupine was profuse near the bottom of the Dead Horse Creek Trail.
Stairs leading to the lower parking lot.
My hike here wound up being 7.7-miles with a little over 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.
Before we headed back to Packwood we drove up to the upper parking lot and found a spot near the visitor’s center and went inside to grab a little food and check out the exhibits.
When we finally got back to our room we were greeted with a few elk grazing in the grass out back. (This was a regular occurrence.)
It turned out to be a great day considering we started off needing to replace our tires. Our plan was to visit the Sunrise Area on Tuesday where the forecast was for mostly sunny skies. Happy Trails!
Flickr: Paradise Area
wanderingyuncks 