A Taste of Mount Rainier with a Sprinkle of Mt St Helens!
Place: Mount Rainier National Park/ Windy Ridge Mt St Helens
State: Washington
Closest Cities: Seattle, WA and Portland, OR
Time of Year: Oct 2023
How we got there: Plane, Road trip
There’s nothing more exciting than going on a trip you did not know you were going on! That’s how our trip to Mount Rainier came about. Cesar was working in Portland and told me on a Wednesday that he would be free on the weekend. I booked a flight using our airline miles and an Airbnb and we were off! I flew into Portland at 5pm on a Friday and we drove to Randle, Washington right outside Mount Rainier NP. We got a good nights sleep at our little Airbnb/motel and were up bright and early to start our adventure! Randel is a teeny tiny town not far from Packwood, close to the Stevens Canyon entrance.
Our Day at Mount Rainier
We ended up using Stevens Canyon as our exit and opted to enter the park through Ashford. This way we could make one giant loop and not have to backtrack. The entrance near Ashford is where you will find the national park sign and we always need a picture of the sign!
Our main objective was to hike The Skyline Trail in Paradise. But first we had to make a quick stop to see Christine Falls. Christine Falls is basically 2 waterfalls each with a little over 30 foot drop. The lower part of the falls is uniquely beautiful as it is visible through the opening of the Christine Falls Bridge . It only takes a few minutes to hike down to see this amazing view, so don’t miss it!
Skyline Trail
Jackson Memorial Visitors Center is where we would start the Skyline Trial. We bundled up and headed counter clockwise on this 6 mile hike. Right away we were surrounded by a pop of fall color. Living in the desert, we don’t get color like this! Soon, the trail lead us to Myrtle Falls. This is a spectacular waterfall. We took the stone steps to get a better view from below. If its this beautiful in the fall, I can just imagine what I would see in the spring and summer!
Right after Myrtle Falls we had a choice to take a short cut up Golden Gate Trail, however we decided to stay on Skyline as to not miss anything! Not long after, we started seeing snow! Our leisurely fall foliage hike quickly turned into a snow covered alpine trek straight up the mountain! 1900 feet elevation gain in all. Crampons would have been a good choice here but our Hoka hiking boots held up just fine! We trudged through the snow and ice which was slippery at times! The views were amazing. Mount Rainier itself played peak a boo with the clouds all day. One minute is was there and the next minute it was gone! How can a volcano that huge just disappear?
We made the gradual climb to Panorama Point and then it was all downhill from there. Mount Rainier was now behind us and the clouds had shifted to allow a more clear view. We encountered more people on this part of the trail. It seems most people hike only to Panorama Point from the visitors center and then back the way they came. There were several little side trails all eventually leading back to the visitors center.
Bench and Snow Lake Hike
After a quick bite to eat and a visit with a park ranger we were pointed in the direction of Snow Lake. The short little trek took us to two lakes. Bench Lake and Snow Lake. If you are looking to avoid crowds, this is a good trail. It has a bit of an incline and some downhill as well but still is in the easy category. You will pass Bench Lake first and end at Snow Lake where you will find a campground and a still lake with a pretty reflection.
Box Canyon of the Cowlitz
This is a must see spot! Just off of Stevens Canyon Road sits Box Canyon. An unusual site to say the least. It is a very narrow canyon hidden between moss covered rock. A short stroll gets you down to a wooden bridge where you can view the magnificent slot canyon with roaring waters of the Cowlitz River. The colors here in the fall are unreal! The moss creates a backdrop of velvet carpet over everything with splashes of red foliage here and there. Definitely one of our favorite spots!
Grove of the Patriarchs
Grove of the Patriarchs was one of the top things on our list to see however, the suspension bridge has been out for a while and therefore that part of the trail is closed. We were able to walk a little ways in to see some of the giants that reside here. The 1000 year old cedars and Douglas Fir trees make this quite a special place. Hopefully they will get that suspension bridge repaired before our next visit!
The rain had started to come down so we decided that this would be our last stop in Mount Rainier National Park. Continuing on Stevens Canyon Road, we exited the park and made our way to Packwood, WA for dinner and then on to our Airbnb in Randle.
Mount St Helens
Before the sun rose the next morning we were on a backroad from Randle headed to Windy Ridge to view Mt St Helens. We were completely alone as we hiked 361 wooden steps for a panoramic view of the magnificent volcano. We looked on in awe as we read the story of her eruption in 1980. As well as Mt St Helens, we could also see Mt Rainier and Mt Hood from this vantage point. How peaceful it was to take in all this beauty without a soul in sight!
Well, that was our taste of Mount Rainier with a sprinkle of Mt St Helens! We plan to go again, maybe this time in the summer! Hope to see you there! Please remember to hike responsibly and leave no trace!
