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Points 6-10
6. ParadiseAs the road climbs ever higher, the forest thins out, yielding to sub-alpine meadows and clear views of Mt. Rainier's upper slopes. Beauty and accessibility have made Paradise the most popular destination in the park.
7. Stevens Canyon Road
Beginning at Inspiration Point, an overlook that affords an impressive view of Mt. Rainier, this beautiful road scales canyon walls, skirts lakes and waterfalls, winds south and then north again along Backbone Ridge, and ends in the park's southeasterncorner. Along the way are the glacier-gouged Reflection Lakes, so named because their still surfaces provide clear mirror images of Rainier's gleaming summit. W h e re Stevens Canyon Road crosses the Cowlitz River, churning water has etched a deep chasm in the volcanic rock. A bridge spans the narrow gorge, which is known as Box Canyon. From the top of the bridge, visitors can gaze at the roiling river some 180 feet below.
8. Ohanapecosh
Near the Stevens Canyon entrance to the park, two trails invite visitors to stroll through the stately old-growth forest of the Ohanapecosh River valley. The Grove of the Patriarchs Trail winds for a mile and a half through stands of enormous Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar that are believed to be some 1,000 years old. Another rewarding trail is the three-mile loop to Silver Falls, where the waters of the Ohanapecosh River gush through a slot in ancient volcanic rock and then plunge into a deep, turbulent pool.
9. Sunrise
Much of the road between Ohanapecosh and Sunrise runs steadily north along the banks of creeks, with Rainier's gleaming icecap looming to the west. Beyond the park's White River entrance, an especially scenic spur zigzags upward and emerges on subalpine meadows at Sunrise, the highest point in the park accessible by car. Its most prominent vista takes in nearly four-mile-long Emmons Glacier, the largest glacier in the lower 48 states. Botanical exhibits and a scale model of Mt. Rainier are featured at the Sunrise visitor center.
10. Mather Memorial Parkway
After twisting and turning downhill from Sunrise, the drive reconnects with Rte. 410, known as Mather Memorial Parkway. Following this route south and turning east at lofty Cayuse Pass, the drive eases along hairpin turns to Tipsoo Lake, a gemlike, glacier carved basin near Chinook Pass. From there, the route heads east out of the park, through the Naches Valley (prime apple-growing country), and to Yakima.
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