It’s been several years since I’ve been to Grand Park at Mt. Rainier. We decided to brave the crazy amount of bridge/road closures and venture out there anyway. (I won’t talk about the ridiculous amount of time it took us to get home because of detours, bridge closures, and traffic – suffice it to say it’s a darn good thing Grand Park is so beautiful to make up for it.)
Grand Park is accessible from the Sunrise area of Mt Rainier, or via forest service roads near Lake Eleanor. It’s a long and not-fun slog from Sunrise, the Lake Eleanor route is my favorite. This place is notorious for mosquitoes in summer, so fall is my favorite time once they’re gone for the year.
The views from Grand Park are stunning: Mt. Fremont Fire Lookout, Skyscraper Mountain, Little T, Willis Wall, Steamboat Prow, and Tahoma/Rainier herself, with a massive flat meadow as the backdrop.
This is a place where we choose to spend time just being: not hike > see the view > turn and go back. It’s a place for solitude, quiet, and contemplation. It’s a place for sitting, drinking tea/coffee, having a leisurely lunch, and sometimes reading (though let’s be real, the views are such that I bring a book but never actually keep my eyes on the pages).