Mount Rainier National Park in three days
One side of the mountain per day
Paradise on day one, Sunrise on day two, the old-growth south east on day three. One side of the mountain per day, because crossing it takes ninety minutes.
Excellent itinerary planner! Detail oriented with thoughtful tips for my family’s trip.
12 stops on a real mapEvery stop pinned in order→Every stop is a real pin, in order.
Every stop pinned in order
4 of the stops on these 3 days.
Plan and book your 3 days in Mount Rainier, one step at a time
How 3 days in Mount Rainier split up
Mount Rainier is a single 14,411 foot volcano with a road that does not go round it. Paradise on the south side and Sunrise on the north east both look straight at the summit, and driving between them takes an hour and a half. Nearly every bad Rainier trip is somebody trying to do both before lunch.
Day 1: Paradise, the Skyline Trail and Reflection Lakes
4 stops · Day one
Day 2: Sunrise, Sourdough Ridge and Burroughs Mountain
4 stops · Day two
Day 3: Stevens Canyon, the Grove of the Patriarchs and out
4 stops · Day three
Paradise, the Skyline Trail and Reflection Lakes
Be through the Nisqually Entrance by seven. The Paradise lot fills by nine on a July weekend and there is no second lot. Early also means you are on the Skyline Trail before the meadow heat and before the queue at Myrtle Falls.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
Drive fromSea-Tac to the Nisqually Entrance · ~2 hr · DriveMost people fly into Sea-Tac and drive south east. The Nisqually Entrance is the only gate open all year, and it is the one you want for Paradise.
Base in Ashford6 mi from the gate · book early · lodgeAshford is the closest town to the Nisqually Entrance and where most Paradise trips sleep. Cabins here book three to six months out for July and August.
- Skyline Trail loop
5.5 mi · 1,700 ft · the best day hike here · HikeClockwise from the Paradise visitor centre, up through the meadows to Panorama Point at 6,800 feet and down past Sluiskin Falls. Snow lingers on the high traverse into July.
- Reflection Lakes
Evening light · five minutes from the car · ViewpointThe mountain sits in the water when the wind drops. Come at six in the evening, not at noon, and walk the short loop round the shore.
Sunrise, Sourdough Ridge and Burroughs Mountain
Sunrise is the highest point you can drive to in the park at 6,400 feet, and it faces the mountain across the Emmons Glacier, which is the largest glacier in the contiguous United States. It is a ninety minute drive from Ashford, so this is an early start and a separate timed entry reservation.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
Ashford to Sunrise~90 min · separate timed entry · DriveRound the outside of the park to the White River Entrance. This is the drive people underestimate: ninety minutes each way, and it needs its own timed entry reservation.
- Sourdough Ridge Trail
2.5 mi round trip · the warm-up · HikeA gentle ridge walk straight out of the Sunrise parking lot, with the view north to Glacier Peak and Mount Baker on a clear morning.
- Burroughs Mountain
5 to 9 mi · high tundra, no water · HikeFirst Burroughs is 5 miles round trip, Second is 7, Third is 9 with the mountain filling the sky. Exposed tundra the whole way, and snow holds on the traverse into July.
- Emmons Glacier overlook
Largest glacier in the lower 48 · ViewpointThe Emmons is the biggest glacier by area in the contiguous United States, and from Sunrise you look straight across it at the summit.
Stevens Canyon, the Grove of the Patriarchs and out
The south east corner is the quiet one, and it is the best forest in the park. Drive Stevens Canyon Road east with the pullouts to yourself, stopping at Box Canyon where the Muddy Fork has cut a slot you can look straight down into.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Box Canyon
A slot you look straight down into · ViewpointThe Muddy Fork has cut a narrow slot through the rock here and the footbridge crosses right over it. Ten minutes, and worth stopping for.
- Grove of the Patriarchs
1.1 mi · check the bridge is open · HikeThousand-year-old cedar and Douglas fir on an island in the Ohanapecosh River. The footbridge has been closed for long stretches in recent years, so check before you count on it.
- Silver Falls loop
3 mi from Ohanapecosh · the reliable one · HikeThe better walk of the two and the one that is always open. Old growth, a good waterfall, and hardly anyone on it compared with Paradise.
Out over Chinook PassSummer only · spectacular · DriveIf the pass is open, take it. Highway 410 climbs to 5,430 feet with the mountain behind you and Tipsoo Lake at the top. Closed by snow most of the year.
Book the 2 nights
Beds near the trailheads are the one thing on this trip that genuinely runs out. Everything else can be decided later.
Tell us your dates and we will do the calling. We check every booking site, put your points and card perks against the cash price, and email you this plan back with the best room we can find for each night. Nothing is charged and you decide at the end.
Request to bookCougar Rock Campground (Mount Rainier) opens on its own calendar
The closest reservable campground to Paradise, 173 sites in old growth at $20 a night.
What to pack for Mount Rainier
Built from this route, not a generic list. Every line says why it is here.
On every day of this trip
On your feet
Because you are sleeping indoors
For the driving days
Specific to Mount Rainier
Five things that catch people out
Timed entry is not the entrance fee
They are two separate bookings. An annual pass does not get you through the gate without a reservation in summer.
Paradise and Sunrise are 90 minutes apart
They face the same summit from opposite sides. Do not try to do both in a day.
Sunrise opens late
Usually late June or July. Before that, day two has to become a second Paradise day.
The lots fill by nine
Paradise first, Sunrise a little later. Arriving at seven is the whole trick, and you get the light too.
The mountain makes its own weather
Clear in Ashford means nothing about Paradise. Check the NWAC and park forecasts, not the town one.
Mount Rainier, answered
Everything you'll actually want to know before a Mount Rainier trip.
Three is the number that works: one for Paradise, one for Sunrise, one for the south east. Two is enough if you skip Sunrise. One day is a Paradise day and nothing else.
We'll find the cheapest way to do this trip.
Tell us your dates and we price the plan you just built: every booking site, the hotels direct, and your own points and card perks against the cash price. You get it back by email with a link for each night and what it saved you.
- It is free. The hotel pays us, not you. You pay their normal price.
- Nothing is charged and nothing is held. You decide at the end, or you walk away.
- Beds near trailheads are the part that runs out. Everything else can wait.
The figures below are estimates from local nightly rates, so you know the ballpark before you ask. The real number comes back once we have checked what is free.
- 2 nights, campsite near Mount Rainier
2 × $20$40
- Cougar Rock Campground (Mount Rainier) permitBooked separately on Recreation.gov, and on its own timeline. The fee is small but the window is the part that matters.
- 2 nights, a room in Ashford
2 × $210$420
- Cougar Rock Campground (Mount Rainier) permitBooked separately on Recreation.gov, and on its own timeline. The fee is small but the window is the part that matters.
- Everything in Glamped, plus a local guide for the trip
- Airport pickup and every drive handled
- All the gear rented and waiting, so you pack clothes and nothing else
- Weather turns and they rewrite the day while you are still at breakfast
Written and walked by Yulia Vasilyeva · Co-founder · Lead planner and guide
Builds every custom itinerary herself and leads guided hikes in the Pacific Northwest, rated 5.0 by 20+ verified guests. Based in Seattle.
Booking Mount Rainier
Everything below is booked with the operators direct. We earn a commission on some of them, which is what keeps the itineraries free to read.
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What adventurers say about us.
All reviews are from verified guests. ★★★★★ 5.0 average from 20+ bookings.
"Felt like going out with a really knowledgeable friend who just happens to know everything about the area. No awkward tour-guide energy, just a magnificent day."
"Yulia is an incredible guide. She knew every trail, every viewpoint, and exactly how to pace the day for our group. The photos she took of us were stunning. 100% booking again."
"I was visiting Seattle solo and this was the best decision I made on the trip. Yulia picked me up, had snacks, and took us to a trail I never would have found on my own. Absolute must-do."
"We did this as a couple's trip and it was perfect. Yulia adapted everything to us, our pace, our interests, our photo obsession. The mountain views were unreal."
"Phenomenal experience. Yulia has deep local knowledge and a real passion for the outdoors. She went out of her way to show us the hidden gems tourists never see. Will remember this forever."
"I've done a few guided hikes and this was by far the best. Yulia is warm, funny, and genuinely expert. The trail she chose had the most insane wildflower bloom, we got so lucky."
Fees, reservation windows, shuttle dates and trail closures are planning estimates. Confirm hours, road status and any reservations with the land manager before you go.
What other travelers are saying
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One tap. It goes straight to Yulia and Margarita.
You can't hike it if you can't get the permit.
The best hikes in America run on lotteries that open once a year and sell out in minutes. Every trail runs on its own calendar. Pick the ones you want and we do the watching.
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How it works
- An email the morning each window opens, never the day after.
- A 14-day heads-up so you can line up your group and dates.
- Win odds and a ranked backup plan for every trail you pick.
Didn't win? We keep watching. We check recreation.gov every day for The Enchantments, Half Dome and Angels Landing, and email you the moment a sold-out date frees up. Cancellations are the second chance most people never hear about.
Excellent itinerary planner! Detail oriented with thoughtful tips for my family's trip.