Best trails in Mount Rainier National Park

Amazing trail! Lots of wildflowers amazing view of Mount Rainier and Mount Baker!

Pretty much as good as it gets if you want a view of Mount Rainier. Two thumbs up

Ghost Cloud at Reflection Lake! My fiancé booked a trip to visit Mount Rainier, also known as Tahoma, in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in Washington. We went in the middle of June, 2024. The park was pretty empty when we went and left very early, around 5AM to beat the crowds. We decided to go to Reflection Lake which is one the most picturesque spots near the mountain. Mount Rainier still had a lot of snow on the mountain. Near the parking lot, we spotted a strange cloud-like object. We were the only car in the parking lot and debated on if we should get out of the car or not because it was so cold. We decided the picture opp was worth it so we got out of the car. We were struck with icy cold air and then when I looked up there was a weird thick cloud about 12 feet tall, just a little taller than our jeep. The rest of the sky around the low mysterious cloud was clear. The cloud was too thick to see through and it had a shimmering effect on it. It was so low it felt like you could touch it. The air was thick, like something was around and we were being stared at. We stood under the cloud for a few minutes, wondering what it was. The other odd thing we noticed was that there was no sound while we were standing under it. It was eerie. We tried to throw a rock at it and the rock just went through it and landed as normal. Then we noticed that it moved when we moved. It scared the hell out of us so we ran back into the jeep and left. My fiancé started the jeep and there was no sound. A few seconds later, once we were fully pulled out of the parking lot the music started blaring and it was like someone turned the sound back on. We drove away and couldn’t believe what we just saw. Did we see an alien or a ghost? We decided to go back to make sure we saw what we saw. The cloud was gone when we went back. To this day, we still have no idea what it was we saw at the Reflection Lake parking lot. I’ve never seen anything like it since. The whole situation was terrifying. We took a few photos, and you can see where the otherworldly ghost cloud moved and how low it was.

Patience is a virtue with mount rainier! Our first attempt at this hike, the mountain wasn’t visible due to fog. We came back the next day and were disappointed to find the mountain covered again with fog after the 40 min drive up to paradise (we learned the park also have trail cams to see the Mountain Views in real time). We almost left and then the sun finally shown and the clouds parted! We did the skyline loop clockwise and enjoyed every minute. The vista felt like another planet with strong winds and snow. Overall elevation wasn’t terrible. Ended up taking the golden gate shortcut home that cut off a mile due to increasing snow

Long bumpy forest road that leads to a truly beautiful and calm hike with great views of Mount Rainier.

We did the trail clockwise and checked off many spots we wanted view. It was a hard for us because we did back to back hikes with higher elevation gains. It took about 6 hours as we stop and enjoy the views and some snacks at the top. Carry plenty of water and hiking poles recommended. On the way up we saw some black tailed deers that were strolling in the meadows. It was clear day on 10/13/24 so we got beautiful views of Mount Rainier and fall foliage. The loop trail doesn’t descend at panoramic point, you need to go high up the high skyline trail and then descend. It might be harder on your knees so plan it well.its pretty rocky at the top. Restrooms available at panoramic point. It was totally worth it and very pretty. Would love to do this again in spring.