Mount Rainier: Family Getaway to Updated Paradise Inn

On our family trip to stay overnight at Paradise at Mount Rainier a few years ago, I went in with admittedly low expectations.

I thought staying overnight at historic Paradise Inn might mean a tiny, cramped room — at Four Seasons prices — with a gross floral poly bedspread that you don’t really want to touch, much less cover your body with. The photos on the reservation site showed the rooms in pre-remodel condition, and I was a little leery.

Thankfully, as the now-updated photos show, I needn’t have worried. Lovely Paradise Inn opens for the season May 20, 2023. Reservations are open now.

Fresh and new

Inside Mount Rainier National Park, the annex at Paradise Inn was originally built in 1921. In May 2019, it re-opened following a $25-million renovation. A big chunk of that money went to boring but necessary structural stuff (electrical and plumbing updates, seismic bracings, energy-efficient upgrades, etc.), but what families will most appreciate is the dramatic transformation of the 79 guest rooms.

In a word: beautiful.

What’s old is new again. During the remodel, workers removed the 1970s-era wood paneling and dropped ceilings, making the rooms more spacious and also revealing the original crown molding. Big windows let in natural light and offer stunning views of evergreen trees and snowy peaks.

Crisp linens and a coat of paint refreshed the rooms, while framed historical photos provide a look at the inn’s past. Soundproofing was added in between the rooms during the renovation. We could still hear our neighbors’ muffled sounds, but we were so pooped from a day of tromping around that we zonked out anyway.

Mountain adventure with creature comforts

Can you have a luxurious adventure on the side of a mountain? There’s no Wi-Fi, no TV, no mini fridge, no microwave, no elevator and definitely no swimming pool. There is a hairdryer and rustic-chic furniture. You’ll get an actual key at check-in. To make a call, you must use the payphones in the lobby. (There is free Wi-Fi at the nearby Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center.)

Bring board games to play in the main lodge lobby in the evening. It’s a humongous room flanked by two stone fireplaces. A pianist played for hours on the only piano I’ve ever seen done in a woodland-cottage style.

Food-wise, you’re a captive audience unless you pack in your own provisions. (We brought along a cooler full of our Trader Joe’s faves.) At the inn’s dining room, expect adequate fare at high prices, as you’d expect on the side of a mountain.

The Tatoosh Café at the inn serves up coffee, sandwiches, snacks and grab-and-go items. Both the dining room and the café are open daily, May 20–Oct. 1.

Rainier’s history

For the uninitiated, you have to know that the Paradise area offers an incredibly accessible wilderness experience. If you’re sightseeing with older grandparents, pregnant mamas or willful toddlers, Paradise offers the right dose of adventure. There’s a swanky visitor center next to that newly remodeled inn. Leading from the parking lot are several paved trails, varying in difficulty from super-easy all the way to super-strenuous.

Since the 1890s, Paradise has served as a base camp for exploring Mount Rainier. Back then, visitors arrived by stagecoach to a tent city called “Camp of the Clouds.” The main lodge opened in 1917; the original building was assembled without using a single nail.

Paradise was so popular, more amenities were added over the years. These included a rope tow for skiers in the 1930s; 275 housekeeping cabins and a 9-hole golf course during the Depression; and swaths of car camping spots in the 1960s. All that stuff is gone now, and a planned second wing of the annex was never built. The priority now is to restore the wildflower meadows.

This volcano is a lot of things to different people. For Native Americans, Mount Rainier was a god. For mountaineers, it’s a climbing obstacle course. For tourists and locals alike, it’s the most iconic natural landmark in the Pacific Northwest. Walking through the parking lot reads like a roll call of a U.S. map. My kids knocked off half the states on their license plate quest in the Paradise parking lot.

The Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center is open daily, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., through June 17, when hours are likely to expand. (Check back to be sure.) Inside you’ll find a café, a gift shop (of course) and a really nice interactive exhibit about the mountain’s history, geology and culture. Second-floor exhibits remain closed.

The rangers are gracious and helpful. Stop at the info desk to pick up a kids’ activity book. Bring it back when you’re done and get sworn in as a Junior Ranger, complete with an official badge and certificate.

Family-friendly trails (and snow!)

We stuck to the trails at Paradise earmarked for families with strollers and wheelchairs: Myrtle Falls (1 mile) and the Nisqually Vista Trail (1.2 miles). Easy peasy, right? Except plan for snow into summer, especially if it’s been a snowy winter, which was the case the year of our stay.

On our visit, the park ranger instructed us to walk across the snow, not around it, to avoid trampling wildflowers. Our sneakers slipped on the steep snow fields, and I saw other unprepared visitors in saris and flip flops.

That much snow was unexpected and very slick. But when I asked my 8-year-old what he liked best about Mount Rainier, he said, “The snow. And dinner at the restaurant.”

July and August are the prime months to visit Paradise; that’s when the wildflower meadows reach their full glory. But the height of tourist season also means you’ll be lucky to snag a spot in the parking lot. If you visit in June or September, bring snow gear and lots of layers, just in case.

Kid-sized adventures

Staying overnight allowed us a better window for mountain adventures. For a previous visit, we’d attempted a day trip, but 6.5 hours in the car later, we never even made it more than 400 yards from the visitor center.

My kids are novice hikers, and I didn’t quite trust them to not tumble down the drop-offs at the side of the paved path. Looong way down. But there are some good kid-sized hikes here. We made it as far as the Nisqually Vista Loop Trail viewpoint, where we saw tiny specks climbing toward Camp Muir. “They’re almost to the sky,” my 4-year-old observed. Even more thrilling were the deer we spotted, standing less than 10 feet away in the woods.

The next morning, we had better luck hiking at lower elevations. Narada Falls is a mile or so south of Paradise, and the trail from the parking lot to the viewpoint is a mere 0.1 miles. We made it to the base of the waterfall with minimal whining, and even spotted a rainbow in the mist.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2019 and just updated for 2023.