Mt Rainier

[mommacl]

Any opinions of the Gayline tour to Mt. Rainier? Considering it, as we will not planning on renting a car. :)

[SeattleCruiselover]

Any opinions of the Gayline tour to Mt. Rainier? Considering it, as we will not planning on renting a car. :)

 

You're likely to have a sore tuchis by the time you get back. It's 10 hours on a bus (usually a large Greyhound type, but occasionally a smaller mini-bus, depending on how many people are going), though you will be on and off the bus a few times for the slide show, lunch, and some sightseeing. Don't count on seeing the city, or much else, from the mountain....about 250 days of the year or more we don't see the mountain and the mountain doesn't see us, due to the clouds.

 

If you are able to see the glaciers through the clouds they are quite a sight.

[mommacl]

So.. you reco renting a car. Where do I find out the best route. I don't want to be driving & driving around & than not really seeing anything. OK , so...what's your opinion of seeing the Locks. The Argosy boat tour or taking the #17 bus from downtown the the Locks & than I believe there are other things to do near ?! Going thru the Locks should be cool, but you can't see the fish ladder right?

[SeattleCruiselover]

So.. you reco renting a car. Where do I find out the best route. I don't want to be driving & driving around & than not really seeing anything. OK , so...what's your opinion of seeing the Locks. The Argosy boat tour or taking the #17 bus from downtown the the Locks & than I believe there are other things to do near ?! Going thru the Locks should be cool, but you can't see the fish ladder right?

 

You can drive from Seattle to Mount Rainier in three hours or less. The shortest route is via route 169 from Renton to Enumclaw. From there, it is a 40-mile drive through beautiful mountain scenery to the Sunrise Visitor Center high on the eastern slopes of the mountain. As an alternative, you can follow route 7 south from Tacoma then head east on route 706 to the village of Ashford which is 6 miles from the Nisqually entrance to the park, about 8 miles from the Longmire Visitor Center and approximately 25 miles from Paradise and the Jackson Visitor Center high on the southern slopes of the mountain. You can also continue further south on route 7 and turn east on route 131 to the village of Packwood, which is 15 miles from the Stevens Canyon entrance to the park and 35 miles from the Paradise Visitor Center.

 

And, no matter if it is car or bus, it is an entire day trip....3 hour drive each direction, plus whatever time you spend up on the mountain. A good many of the roads were damaged in the heavy snows and rains of the past year, so be sure to check on conditions before you go up....they have been working on them, and working on the park itself to get it back up to snuff.

 

The small locks at Chittenden are broken and closed right now, with only the larger locks operating. It is a bit early yet for much fish traffic in the ladders, though there is some, to be sure.

[Got2Cruise]

Mt. Rainier is simply magnificent. We arrived in Seattle late at night, and then when we walked outside the Marriott Waterfront and looked left, there was Mt. Rainier-- we were awestruck. Seeing Mount Rainier up close was one of the highlights of our trip, just as wonderful to us as the glaciers in Alaska.

 

The drive from Seattle is an all day trip, but as Karen mentioned, much of it is driving through the forest. Even the section on 169 was interesting driving, because we enjoy seeing the country. It is like your old-school "road trip":)

 

We rented a GPS from Avis, just to be on the safe-side, but we really didn't need it, but liked the extra security, just in case.

[mommacl]

Got2Cuise

Thank you for your reply. I was almost thinking it was not worth the trouble(and really dissapointd) but you've made feel alot better about taking the day to go to Mt. Rainier. We have a portable GPS we are going to bring.Did you just use a road map or did you have driving directions?Can you go into more detail, as in, what entrance ...where you drove while up there? PLEASE!

Also what type of vehicle did you rent?

[Got2Cruise]

Got2Cuise

Thank you for your reply. I was almost thinking it was not worth the trouble(and really dissapointd) but you've made feel alot better about taking the day to go to Mt. Rainier. We have a portable GPS we are going to bring.Did you just use a road map or did you have driving directions? you go into more detail, as in, what entrance ...where you drove while up there? PLEASE!

Also what type of vehicle did you rent?

We had a road map with us, that my Mom who is a member of AAA ordered for us, but the directions we used we found in Seattle magazine that was in our hotel room. They were very simple. When you enter the Mt. Rainier national park it costs $15.00 and they give you maps of the park. We went to the Sunrise Lodge area. Besides the Park Rangers station there is a snack shop and clean bathrooms located here.There are a couple of overlooks to stop at on the way. I am not a hiker in any way, shape or form, and was able to complete the hike to the Frozen Lake without any issues. You are at about 6200 feet at Sunrise. The summit is so close! You will be above the tree line! And the fields of wildflowers in this area is just like when Maria sings "The Hills Are Alive". . .in the Sound of Music. You are not allowed to do that though.LOL . .the meadows are in the regrowth stage. I think that Sunrise is only open during the summer, so I would check the website to make sure if you are not travelling in the summer. We rented an economy level car, a chevy Cobolt. It was nothing fancy as far as interior, but it had enough pep to climb the hills. There is no snow in the summer to worry about.

[Susie51]

I was in Seattle 2 weeks ago there was lots of snow on Mt. Rainier. We had exceptionally clear days while I was there. We stayed with a friend and she said it was some of the best days she had ever been able to see Mt. Rainier. They had lots of snow this past year that is why we could still see so much snow.

[nna]

mt rainier has glaciers--ie always has snow. the snow season measurements start July 1--it snows year round on the mountain. this mountain is 14,000 ft high.

 

however, at lower elevations, the snow does melt out. if you check the mt rainier nps site, you will see a current listing of road conditions. there is currently a lot of snow on the trails at paradise and no snow at Sunrise. I would suggest sunrise road/lodge, as it is a great view of the mountain.

 

any rental car will get you there in the summer. you could be at 5000 ft at paradise tomorrow and it could snow. probably not stick, but...the snowbanks in the summer can be 10-15 ft high.

 

sunrise is on the north east side of the mountain and is reached via hiway 410.

 

I spent a summer teaching climbing on the mountain--we were ready for snow or anything else all the time.

[mommacl]

thanks for all the input. Apx. how long does it take to get to Sunrise from DT Seattle?

[Got2Cruise]

mt rainier has glaciers--ie always has snow. the snow season measurements start July 1--it snows year round on the mountain. this mountain is 14,000 ft high.

 

however, at lower elevations, the snow does melt out. if you check the mt rainier nps site, you will see a current listing of road conditions. there is currently a lot of snow on the trails at paradise and no snow at Sunrise. I would suggest sunrise road/lodge, as it is a great view of the mountain.

 

any rental car will get you there in the summer. you could be at 5000 ft at paradise tomorrow and it could snow. probably not stick, but...the snowbanks in the summer can be 10-15 ft high.

 

sunrise is on the north east side of the mountain and is reached via hiway 410.

 

I spent a summer teaching climbing on the mountain--we were ready for snow or anything else all the time.

Hi, I was referring the car rental, you don't need a four wheel drive to get to Sunrise in the summer. Of course, you should always be prepared. I was, I had gloves and hat and raingear.

[Got2Cruise]

thanks for all the input. Apx. how long does it take to get to Sunrise from DT Seattle?

 

It took us around two hours.

[Got2Cruise]

Doesn't get better than this :-)