After a long hike yesterday we opted stroll around the Paradise area and soak in the flora and fauna before heading home. We looped around using a few different trails (Deadhorse Creek, Avalanche Lily, Alta Vista, Skyline) and ended by doing the Nisqually Vista trail (a new-to-us trail). This loop trail is out of the overflow lot where we parked. It is a nice paved path with several view points looking at the Nisqually glacier.
Date: Friday August 22, 2025
Location: Mt. Rainier, Paradise
Arrival Time: 7:47am
Number of cars upon arrival: Main lot at Paradise was full, the overflow lot was almost full.
Road conditions: Great. Paved and freshly resurfaced areas. Work in progress on the resurfacing and restriping, the roads and lots.
Weather conditions: Sunny and breezy. The arrival temp at Paradise was 64 degrees.
Trail grade and tread: paved trails lead in all directions from Paradise. Many are relatively steep to start but there are other less steep options. They eventually turn to dirt and gravel higher up.
Trail conditions: great
Hike features: 360 Mountain and glacier views.
Wildlife: marmots
Bugs: no
Flowers, berries: still some nice floral displays but many varieties are past prime. Huckleberries.
Number of cars upon return: overflowing parking lots with cars lined down the road for quite a ways
Mileage: 5.10 miles
Elevation gain: 1291' eg
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