24 Hours in Mount Rainier National Park: Hiking the Skyline Trail, Seeing 5 Waterfalls & More 

First two weeks of August is prime wildflower season and that John Muir quote will make more sense than ever. I would recommend all four areas of the park: Paradise, Mowich Lake, Sunrise, and Ohanapecosh. There are several historic lookout towers worth hiking to, panoramic views, wildlife, wildflowers that blanket the slopes of the mountain, and waterfalls that will dwarf Christine falls. Very happy to see you in my backyard!

Mt. Rainier at the end of July is gorgeous! The wildflowers are blooming everywhere. This is my favorite place.

Absolutely well done. I feel as if I wee with them to take everything in. They have the same taste as mine, love of wild flowers. I am now over 80 year of age and unfortunately I would not be able to do a small part of this hike. So thanks to both.

Wow! That was absolutely gorgeous! I hated to see your video come to an end! I was in Seattle in 1999 and one of my wishes was to go up to Mount Rainier. I didn't end up going because it was cloudy and overcast my whole visit. Now it feels like I've been there with your video! Thank you! Good decision on your part to change your plans and go to Mount Rainier on a clear day! Absolutely gorgeous! 😀

Love it. My family and I were just at Rainier last summer and there was still 20 feet of snow at paradise. Stayed in the paradise lodge and it was well worth it. So glad we shot a video on that trip because I’ll never forget what a winter wonderland it was, even in June.

Beautiful day for you visiting Mt. Ranier NP! Thank you for highlighting this area for those of us who who cannot hike all the way to top. Beautiful trails and lots to see!

You do an excellent job on these videos, very professional,easy to watch and entertaining. Your dad is a cool dude too

Every Thanksgiving my sister reminds everyone of our family trip to Mt. Rainier decades ago and how a Park Ranger yelled at me: "Stop throwing pinecones!". I replayed that waterfall at Mt. Rainer's base several times. Wow. Like Icelandic. All these National Parks you visit, you should buy one of those National Park passport stamp books. Peace and safe travels.

One of my favorite places on earth. So nice to see you aiming your lens in my backyard. Seeing your video reminds me again how lucky I am to live near this stunning mountain!

Mt. Rainier NP is well supplied with scenic eye candy for the visitors to enjoy. There's more here than most visitors anticipate. This ranks as one of my favorite TML videos.

Thank you for this beautiful video! I toured the area in the summer of 1975 with my dad but was unable to hike any trails in Mount Rainier National Park because of my dad's limp. This video has brought back very fond memories.

What a beautiful spot 😍

So beautiful! Didn’t realize so much of the hike had no shade. That elevation gain is no joke

Mount Rainier is one of my very favorite parks! It's been several years since we've been, but thank you for taking us on this wonderful trip with you! Love your videos and your family! Have recommended your RU-vid channel to many people. Keep up the good work!

Best Mt Ranier video I have ever seen!! Number one.. not a cloud in the bluebell sky.. number two your so talented and I’ve been hooked since sometime during Covid!! 😮😊soooo awesome 😎

It's really cool. The mountains in Korea are cute, but the mountains in America are really magnificent

Great video! I lived near Seattle for nearly 20 years and spent much time exporing Mount Rainier. Truly one on the best National Parks.

My mom and I stayed at the paradise inn which is so beautiful. We did a driving tour of the park. My mom is 83 so she is limited in how much she can walk but we still had a lovely trip. Next time drive to the sunrise section. We saw the mountain goats there. Lots of amazing short hikes or even just pull outs. It’s very beautiful no matter what par5 of the park. I grew up there so of course it’s one of my all time fav national parks. For good reason it was one of the first national parks in the world. 4th. Created in 1899, right after Yosemite. 1st:Yellowstone. 2nd: sequoia. 5th: crater lake.

Mt Rainer is a hot spot to going hiking ,getting lost. And never to be seen again it's a feeding ground for mysterious places . I know I work as a ranger in the area, we were on search for missing hikers every week.some we find most NEVER FIND. ITS THE LAND TO GET LOST. AND THERES THINGS OUT THAT "DO GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT". WHEN LESS EXPECT IT."

Thank you for visiting one of my very favorite places on Earth! If you have a chance to come back, I highly recommend visiting other parts of the park. I got to spend summers during college working at Sunrise, some of my most favorite memories. (Sunrise: 6400 feet, the highest paved road in the state of WA.) I think you'd really enjoy Second/Third Burroughs Mountain and/or the Mt. Fremont Trail (fire lookout). It's also a short season there end of June through September-ish. Thank you for your videos, as they are a continual source of inspiration!

I've only been to Paradise once and there was too much snow but I have been to Sunrise twice, and I will say, I think Sunrise is more spectacular but I think the secret is out haha it used be less crowded but that's not the case anymore. Regardless, your video shows how amazing Paradise is as well. It's called Paradise for a reason. You can spend a whole week in Rainier. There's a lot. Fremont Overlook and Tolmie Peak are absolutely amazing.

What a beautiful trail. In 2015 we got to camp in Rainer for 5 days, it was the last time we camped ( my bones just couldn't tent camp anymore ) The campground and the time we spent there was magical. That mountain is just gorgeous! We did the trail to Snow Lake and it was beautiful, we also did the short trail to Silver falls, and that waterfall is absolutely beautiful. I feel like no matter what you do in that park, you can't go wrong because it's all just amazing beauty and scenery. I think we particularly enjoyed the park due to how many waterfalls were so easily accessible.

Lived here my whole life and I’m 73. Husband has climbed it many times and taken people up there. It is beautiful. Husband said you should have gone to Pebble Creek you were almost there

This must have been very invigorating. Thank you for taking us along. This was so interesting, and beautiful. 👏👏

Love MT. Rainier! Been there twice and looking forward to more visits!

What an absolutely beautiful park. Washington and Oregon are two of the four states I've never visited (Alaska and Hawaii are the others). I need to get to those two. Thank you for yet another wonderful video. These are good for my mental health! 🙂

I went here for the first time yesterday and the trail leading from the visitor's center was completely covered in snow (on June 17th!)

How beautiful! Thanks so much! Happy to have traveled with you! 👋

You must go back and drive around the mountain hitting sunrise and paradise in the same day. It is an amazing day trip.

Great video! I did the Skyline Trail in Oct 2020 and there was a massive (partially dangerous) snow storm all the way up and down. Glad to enjoy the views on a normal day in your video. 😊 I enjoyed the tough hike in snowy conditions none-the-less.

As the glaciers melt they create more waterfalls .. which is beautiful and tragic.. 😢😊😊😮😮❤❤❤

Beautiful trails through my Rainier Nat. Park! Thank you for your video of it! Loved that big waterfall!❤️😀🇺🇸

Beautiful ! !

This is an awesome video. I’ve been to Ranier as part of a tour, so didn’t have much time at Paradise. Now, I want to go back and hike the Highline Trail. Thank you for sharing.

I went there years ago and unfortunately it was cloudy with light rain! You had just perfect weather! Thanks for doing the video so now I got to see some of the nice views that I missed! I would love to go back there one day with my wife. She would love it I'm sure! When I was driving down from the visitor center, I saw a couple of bear cubs crossing the road. I think I had run out of film and they were gone quickly so I did not get a photo!

Some fabulous camera work from this amazing area of Washington. Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

You have taught me, and I have learned about Glaciers and how to identify them from your videos! Thank you so much for taking us on your travels. Wonderful work!

Spectacular video as always. I personally love Mount Rainier as one of my favorite mountains in the USA. Keep up the fantastic work.

You did Rainier right. I always tell people who visit that if you have the clear day that's the day you go to Rainier. A lot of tourists get disappointed when they go and it's socked in. It may be cliche but I mean, the best thing to do in the park is to climb up to Camp Muir or summit. Skyline is also iconic though.

Mt Rainier is, as John Muir said in that quote you showed, a perfect garden paradise. You got a gloriously clear day. It’s hazy from smoke from recent fires. I love the views of the mountains and all the waterfalls. The day I went up to myrtle falls I had a typical foggy morning. So no great shot like you got of the mountain and the falls. You can get some great early fall colors on the eastern side of the mountain.

Thank you for the heads up.

I've hired this trail more than a dozen times. I never get tired of it. I have also hiked many more trails (including a trip to the top). I like Comet falls on the way to Van Trump Park and Eagle Peak. Eagle Peak is usually less crowded.

What a great video! This was one of my favorite videos so far. Always take advantage of a clear day! Especially in the PNW!

Awesome video, thanks for sharing, your skills make it almost like being there!

Another wonderful place. Thank you for the video.

I love your energy! Thank you for this video. I will be visiting in August on my birthday.

God arts so beautiful and what a beautiful creator 😍

Id love to see some natural pnw hot spring videos

It looks brilliant! Love to the best bit of America, from the UK! 🇺🇸

Mt. Rainer really impressed me. I'm a bit of a Yosemite snob, but it is a wonderful park. We did the Paradise hike that followed the trail to the glacier overlook. Still very steep and a long haul but worth it. We were there is mid-September and you are right, the fall colors of the bushes and ground plants amid the pines was just stunning.

A place I’ve wanted to visit for years! Really loved your footage. Amazing views, stunning waterfalls!! I think Christine falls was my favorite from your trip today. 😉 Happy trails

Awesome views. Thanks for sharing.

We were there back in September absolutely wonderful trip

Wow so gorgeous! I’d like to hike there some day 👏🏼

WOW this a great video, wish I could see it in person. You always do a beautiful job on explaining what youb are at. 🤗

A top 5 park for me. Rainier NP is roughly square so actually 4 beautiful & different corners to explore besides the mountain itself.

Very beautiful as always!!! Thanks for sharing I enjoy your videos.

Oh love this video; thank you! 🏔

Great video! Thanks for all the tips.

Yeah Skyline and Burroughs are probably my two favorite hikes in WA. Burroughs is out of Sunrise and what makes it special is you are really hiking right up the foot of the mountain as it looms even closer overhead than on Skyline. Both are stunning. What’s nice at Rainier is that it differs from most hikes in the PNW, which aren’t like what I was used to back in CA where you are typically above tree line. Here you are often enveloped by the forest which gets boring to me. But Rainier has that alpine feel that I love, and you get big open country, a rarity in these parts.

Can’t wait to go. Great video 🙌

The Sunrise side is a must see as well. The Burroughs and Fremont Lookout are great trails to explore. Also, on the Paradise side, Pinnacle Peak. Lots of snaps on my Instagram from this park 👍🏻

Skyline is my absolute favorite trail ever - next do Tolmie Peak, Dege Peak, Naches loop in early August for the wildflowers, and Mt Fremont lookout for sunrise. I visit every year from CA and never get enough. Tacking on a couple Rainier days to my Olympic trip in July 💚 ~Kristin

Wow so beautiful!

I have family in Moses Lake and have been to Mt Rainer. It is such a majestic mountains. My trip to Washington is not complete unless I see Mt Rainer close or from a distance.

Good choice heading to Rainer!

I love the trail of shadows, not hard and cool features.

some places in Washington where you could see some amazing fall colors are maple pass loop, blue lake, cascade pass, cutthroat pass, and Washington pass overlook.

We loved this park--unfortunately we came in a snowy year and in mid-June only part of it was open. We had a wonderful stay at Paradise Inn, but the Skyline Trail was still closed. We did enjoy Christine and Narada Falls as well as the area around Longmire, but we could not get to the Sunrise section. We have planned to return and this video increased that desire! Thanks for sharing.

So beautiful, good job.

Hi Josh Awesome looking hike. So is it a loop trail or out and back? This park is on my list after your video it's moved up. Thanks

Great video, dude!!

Was just there. A bit hazy due to surrounding fires but in a clear day can see peak. Did same route you did as well. Keep up great content

I was going to head there this past September but I changed plans for other areas but I plan on checking out what you did plus I would check out Tolmie Peak Trail.

This channel is way underrated!

My favorite was the Sunrise at the top, very cool visitor center, and there's another spot where there's a lodge with big sofas to sit in while you watch all the peeps coming in & out.

excellent! hope you got the blackberry pie right outside of the entrance. One of the best. There was like a metal sculpture garden on the road as well, right outside of the entrance too wonder if you saw that? Also amazing.

Wow, we went 5 years ago in June and it was completely snow covered for half the trail, you got a totally different experience, especially with the views, the week we were there it was cloudy all week. I’d advise having poles and being aware of conditions before the hike

Great video! No snow hooray 😭!

Paradise to the glacier

Been there exactly where you filmed. Hello from Abu Dhabi

If you get a chance go during sunrise it's truly spectacular.

Beautiful! We subscribed on the Route 66 videos. Such fun and so inspiring. Love the tidbits you mention and wow some of the food looks mouthwatering. Gorgeous! Just one thing, watch The Earthing movie. I would love to walk barefoot in some of these places...

Grove of the Patriarch is pretty cool and Silver Falls Trail.

My favorite spot is on the summit which is something I experienced a quarter of a century ago.

From Fort Lewis, i only could see the mountain 1 day out of 14, it's usually hidden behind a cloud of fog in the summer.

Gorgeous! Makes me wonder if there's a national park also at Mt. Baker? I would always see it in the south when I lived in Vancouver

I love, love, LOVE Mt Rainier. Probably my favorite NP but might be biased cause I've been to many spots and I'm a local haha. Skyline Trail is definitely beautiful and meadowy, which gives it an enchanted feel. However, for me, crowds can negatively affect my overall experience. My suggestion if you are to do one hike, then yes, do skyline. But, my all time favorite is the Burrough Mountains at the Sunrise section. The trail is harder, longer, and more desolate, but at least when I went, it's more peaceful. If you want a more Sunrise-like Trail, you can do a semi loop and go to shadow lake or even the Glacier Basin Trail. There's also Comet falls at Paradise. I suggest hiking to the falls and beyond, to Van Trump. It has a meadow and it goes to the top of the falls, which was an amazing place to stop for a snack, with a view of Rainier.

Once I get up to Paradise, and I've been three times, I can't hike too high up because it's almost 7,000 feet up and my lungs can't handle rough hiking in the thin mountain air. I probably hiked maybe a quarter to half a mile down a trail, but didn't get to see that cool wsterfall. You have stronger lungs than I have.

I am always amused when people refer to the summit as “the mountain”…you are already on the mountain, its base is so wide that people usually don’t realize that. That “creek” you were looking at with the bridge across it, is actually the Nisqually river, it begins at the Nisqually glacier, which you can view from the Nisqually Vista Trail. It looks small unless you’re actually on level with it, it’s flowing extremely quickly and is incredibly cold. 😉

That national park is pretty cool, but I always come back to Yosemite National Park that’s the greatest national park of all time

What an amazing hike! I’ve always wanted to visit here. A great idea to take advantage of the clear day!😀

❤

That was so beautiful Josh..btw when you say 'we' do you mean you and someone else or us??? That rainbow waterfall was put there as a thankyou to you😊

Nice video 🤩 Where is pops !!

Hard to beat the beauty of Mt.Rainier. We visited last year and hiked that trail. Epic. Can’t wait to get back,

The scenery is incredible. When was this taken ? and the weather ?

👍👍👍

I hike at Rainier every week during the summer. I avoid Paradise and tend to do stuff out of Sunrise and on the east side of the park to avoid the crowds. SR

Go to Mt Shasta next!