Mt. Rainier Family Hike

The main character in the Young Adult Historical Fiction book I’m working on dreams of summiting Mt. Rainier. So, I wanted to get my butt on the mountain to see, smell, and touch my way around. We actually did this hike in August (same as my character!) but now that the Pacific Northwest is covered in snow, I’m reminiscing and thought I’d share some info about the hike.

So! If you’re looking for a great family hike around the Seattle/Tacoma area, check out the Sunrise side of Mt. Rainier. Although, there are a few drop offs…. so I guess it depends on the maturity of your kids (and the quick grabbing abilities of the adults). Here is one such drop off.

We kept our little one strapped in for this trail. There are a few different trail options–some steeper and longer than others.

The main theme of every sign is STAY ON THE TRAIL! They’re trying really hard to keep the fragile native plants alive that were once trampled by tourists.

The kids got to join a cool class put on by a Park Ranger outside the lodge. You can check out the Junior Ranger Programs or learn more about Mt. Rainier Kids’ Quests at their website. We saw two boys getting their Junior Ranger Certificate for completing a quest and you would have thought they were being inducted into the hall of fame the way this Park Ranger was carrying on. Here’s a snippet from their page about the Quests:

“Quests are a fun and educational way to tour the park and visit areas of interest to you.  Each Quest is an adventure that lets you discover special places in the park as you explore a theme.  Many Quest discovery sites include activities or interactive questions that you can complete to earn a certificate of recognition.”

There are many themes for the quests, including Geological Forces, Snow, History, Giants (trees), Glaciers, Summit Views, Waterfalls, and Wildflowers.

So, pack a lunch to eat on one of the many picnic tables with a killer view, and plan to stay for the afternoon and have sore hamstrings the next day! There is a cafe with lots of options, but of course the prices are astronomical because they can be. They do have vegetarian options and were happy to accommodate a sesame allergy, but next time we will definitely save the $45 and pack our own lunch.

If you’ve hiked with kids on the Sunrise side of Mt. Rainier, let me know how it went in the comments!