The road from Nisqually to Paradise, in the southwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park, has a few places to stop and hike, or just enjoy the natural scenery.
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.
16 years before Mount Rainier National Park was established in 1889, James Longmire built a 13 mile long trail from Ashford to a hot springs he discovered in what is now know as the Longmire Historic District. By 1890, he had built cabins and a small hotel, attracting up to 500 guests each summer by the turn of the century. His family also built a trail to the Paradise area, six miles away.
Iconic Mount Rainier is the centerpiece of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The snow-capped volcano is just the beginning of what you can see and do while visiting. The park offers over 260 miles of incredible hiking trails, waterfalls, pristine lakes, and plenty of outdoor activities.
We spent a windy, rainy day exploring (or trying to explore) some of the Pacific beaches at Olympic National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Washington. The beaches are often described as “wild” in many park publications, and for good reason. They’re part of the longest stretch of undeveloped beach in the contiguous United States. This entry covers all beaches we visited except Shi Shi Beach.
If you’re looking for a bit of adventure, Shi Shi Beach can give it to you. This remote Pacific coast beach can be accessed via a two mile trail starting at the Makah Reservation and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Olympic National Park.
The Sol Duc Valley in Olympic National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Washington, features a historic resort, hiking trails, and an incredible natural phenomenon. The main feature running through it is the Sol Duc River. We visited the area after checking out Lake Crescent.
After our original plan to visit Hurricane Ridge fell through, we decided to head to the Lake Crescent area of Olympic National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, for a quick look at the lodge and a short hike. Lake Crescent is only 18 miles west of Port Angeles, Washington.
With snow-capped mountains, pristine lakes, magical rain forest, and wild Pacific beaches, Olympic National Park is one of the best. This park in northwest Washington, established in 1938, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with almost a million acres of wilderness waiting to be explored.
The small town of Beverly Shores, Indiana, is surrounded on three sides by Indiana Dunes National Park and borders Lake Michigan to the north.