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The Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington was named by James Longmire’s daughter, who upon seeing it exclaimed “Oh, what a paradise!”. It’s a fitting name, as there aren’t many places in the country as beautiful.
When we arrived, we were awestruck at the view of Mount Rainier and the rest of the scenery. Tim, who worked at the park for a year, told us we were very lucky. There weren’t many days he was able to see the entire mountain clearly. We felt as if we could reach out and touch the top of the mountain when we were there.
Early Days
Visits to Paradise date back to 1893, when the Longmire family built a trail from what is now the Longmire Historic District. At that time, visitors had to hike six miles to get there. A tent camp was set up in 1895 to accommodate an increasing number of visitors, and in 1911, a road was completed allowing horse-drawn carriages to make the trip for the first time.
Paradise Inn
The historic Paradise Inn, a classic of the National Park system and National Historic Landmark, was constructed in 1916 and remains in its full grandeur today. Unfortunately, it was closed for the season when I visited. The inn is usually open from May to early October.
Jackson Visitor Center
The Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center opened in 1966 and was demolished and rebuilt in 2008. It serves as the park’s main visitor center and is open daily from May to early October, and usually on weekends and holidays only the rest of the year. Since I visited on a Monday in late October, it was closed.
Guide Service Building
The third prominent building at Paradise is the Guide Service Building, built in 1920, was used to house mountain climbing guides.
Trails
Of course, the buildings aren’t the main attraction at Paradise, it’s the magical scenery and trails. We visited when the snow was a few inches deep and were able to spend about an hour on the trails. We started at a stairway with a quote by John Muir etched into the steps:
“…the most luxuriant and most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings.” – John Muir, conservationist, 1889
Myrtle Falls
Because the weather was so cold and the snow was deep, we decided not to wander too far. Our choice was to take the Skyline Trail to Myrtle Falls, which is a 1 mile trip. The trail was with partially packed down snow, making it a bit slippery in a few spots, but the scenery was lovely.
From the trail, we were able to get good views of the Tatoosh Range, which can also be seen from the parking lot.
Myrtle Falls is accessed by a short walk down from the trail, and beautifully drops down a cliff. As the trail continues to other points of interest, there’s a bridge behind the falls to give you another angle.
We walked back to the parking lot wondering what it would be like to continue along the trail and hike to the meadows in summer. If it’s so incredible in winter, we could imagine when the landscape is filled with colorful wildflowers. It’s something to look forward to on our next trip.
Road Conditions
The road to Paradise is plowed throughout the winter, allowing year-round access. It’s 19 miles from the Nisqually entrance.
When we were there, heavy snowfall closed the loop road and the entrance to Stevens Canyon Road. Be aware that tire chains are required between November 1 and May 1 throughout the park, regardless of road or weather conditions.
