View Park - Mount Rainier National Park - Reviews

Mount Rainier National Park

-We entered the park on the northeast side, going south on WA 110
-We got lost early on, missed the White River Entrance Drive, and had to double back—this experience was frustrating and could have been alleviated if simple maps were provided at the entrance to the park or if the sign to the White River Entrance was more prominent
-Road to Sunrise Visitor Center was beautiful, as was the Center, and the view of Mt. Rainier from the Center—many excellent photo opportunities, some with beautiful wild flowers
-Had our picnic lunch near Box Canyon—also a great stop, with waterfalls
-Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center and nearby areas were great, a great tribute to a US Senator who promoted conservation, many great views, stops, and photo opportunities
-National Park brochure/pamphlet—once we got it at White River Entrance—was excellent/informative.
-“The Tahoma News,” the newsletter for Mount Rainier National Park, provided lots of information on special events, interpretative activities, hiking trails, hours for visitor centers, food and lodging, and information on campgrounds—a lot of information in a relatively compact newsletter
-We spent the better part of one day quickly touring the park’s highlights; a visit to the park, with trails and special events, could easily be a fun 2 or 3-day vacation
-I think we were fortunate that we were at the park on a Tuesday; all parking lots had spaces, not real crowded. I think this would be different on a weekend, when parking lots would fill up early and the park would be quite crowded because it is less than 2 hours from Seattle
-Overall, we were very glad to have toured Mount Rainer National Park—it’s well worth the visit

Mount Rainier National Park ratings (on scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the best)

-Upkeep = 5 (Visitor Centers and roads were all excellent)
-Beauty = 5 (excellent views, we were blessed with great weather, wildflowers also were beautiful, waterfalls great)
-Peaceful = 4 (this reflects the moderate crowds we had on a weekday, would have been lower score on a weekend)
-Informative = 4 (brochures, maps and newsletters were excellent; would have received a score of 5 if map/better directions provided when we entered the park as stated above)