Mt. Rainier National Park & Mt. St. Helens National Monument

We arrived in Packwood Washington on Friday 26 September 2025. Our goal here was to see Mt. Rainier National Park and Mt. St. Helens National Monument. We had three days to hopefully see them with rain showers, wind and smoke from area wildfires potential blockers.

We really got lucky on Saturday for Mt. Rainier. We drove Stevens Canyon Road, one of the scenic roads southeast through Mt. Rainier National Park. We had left home around 8:30am and we didn't get home till after 5pm that evening. Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano and the highest peak in the lower 48, standing at 14,410 feet. It turned out to be a "free day" at Mt. Rainier NP, so we had trouble finding parking at visitor centers and hiking trails. We had a somewhat sunny day and we even got to see the top of Mt. Rainier when clouds moved from sitting on top of the peak to the opposite side of what we could see, so it was the peak with clouds behind it. This view was only for a fleeting few minutes as the wind pushed clouds around up there all day. We felt blessed to have seen what we did. It looked unreal!

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Reflection Lake

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Longmire Museum

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Longmire Museum

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Longmire Museum

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Narada Falls

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

We took the turn to go to Paradise. Who wouldn't want to go to Paradise!

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Nisqually Vista Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Nisqually Vista Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Nisqually Vista Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Nisqually Vista Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Nisqually Vista Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Nisqually Vista Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Nisqually Vista Trail - Cascades Blacktail deer

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Nisqually Vista Trail - Sooty Grouse

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Nisqually Vista Trail - Sooty Grouse

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Myrtle Falls

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Myrtle Falls

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Paradise - Myrtle Falls Trail

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

Mt. Rainier National Park - Washington - 27 September 2025

On Sunday 28 September 2025, we drove 45 miles to see Mt. St. Helens National Monument. This 45 miles took just under 2 hours to drive because it was narrow roads with dips and potholes almost constantly. We got very close to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint that is recommended for the best view of the volcano, but the road was closed about a mile from that viewpoint. It was a bit disheartening to reach a closed road after all we'd endured to get to that point. We had to admit that at least the drive was a beautiful one and that we did get to see the Mt. St. Helens Monument area.

Packwood Washington - 28 September 2025

Packwood Washington - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Spirit Lake

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Spirit Lake

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Spirit Lake

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Spirit Lake

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

Mt. St. Helens National Monument - 28 September 2025

We got as far as Smith Creek and the road was closed there. Our goal was Windy Ridge.

Here is our third day in Packwood Washington and it's cloudy with lots of smoke in the air. We've already had a couple of rain showers too. This morning we walked over to a local restaurant for breakfast. We think this is the first breakfast we've eaten out since we've been on the road. It was a nice treat and we both got such big breakfasts that we skipped lunch. We managed to get a couple of miles of a walk in before the rain really started. We had phone calls to make and cleaning to do, so the day is almost over. Tomorrow 30 September 2025 we're heading to see Olympic National Park. We'll stay in Chimacum Washington for one week. We feel charmed with the temperatures still being warm and us not getting pushed south with snow. Hopefully that holds for us to see Olympic National Park.