Our day started at 4:30 a.m. with a 2 hour and 15 minute drive from Redmond, Washington to the park. We started on the Van Trump Trail to Comet Falls. As we reached the end of the trail and caught a glimpse of the falls, our jaws DROPPED. We played in the frigid mist of the falls and listened as the roaring water crashed into the ground below.
We stopped at the Henry M Jackson Memorial Visitor Center in Paradise, WA to find postcards, the official NP pin and get our NP passports stamped.
Next stop: Snow Lake. The trail took us to a bright blue lake surrounded by lush, green trees. We picked a spot on the rocks to have lunch and dip our toes in the icy water. This was the ONE trail we forgot to reapply bug spray and we were literally eaten alive. Oops!
Our evening concluded at our hotel, Paradise Inn. We enjoyed a celebratory beer (are we surprised?) and created quite possibly our funniest dance video to date.
Day 2 began on the Skyline Trail Loop, one of the most popular trails in the park that offers incredible views of Mount Rainier. Right out of the gate I got yelled at by a park ranger for making friends with a chipmunk and trying to photograph him. (You bet I got the shot though!) We reached Panorama Point (elev. 6,800 ft.) and snapped a few photos before continuing on to finish the loop. We saw several marmots and I made friends with a butterfly along the way.
Next stop: Sunrise, WA! We drove 2.5 hours to the north side of the park for one more big hike – Mount Fremont Lookout. It started to rain and the cloud layer was dense, but we packed up and headed out anyway. We hiked into the clouds where it was a complete white out and we couldn’t see the ground below anymore. We reached the fire lookout and settled in for snack time. We had the whole thing to ourselves!
Trail Information
| Location | Distance | Elevation Gain | Difficulty Rating | Approx. Time to Complete | |
| Comet Falls via Van Trump Trail | Paradise, WA | 3.8 miles | 1,286 ft | Hard | 2 hr & 15 mins |
| Bench and Snow Lakes | Paradise, WA | 2.2 miles | 449 ft | Moderate | 1 hr |
| Skyline Trail Loop | Paradise, WA | 5.7 miles | 1,768 ft | Hard | 3.5 hours |
| Mount Fremont Lookout via Sourdough Ridge Trail | Sunrise, WA | 6 miles | 1,108 ft | Moderate | 2 hr & 45 mins |
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