The name is no exaggeration. When the wildflowers bloom at Mount Rainier’s biggest visitor area, the meadows are as lush as any celestial kingdom. The Paradise Inn, Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center, Nisqually Glacier overlooks, and climbing center draw so many tourists that the park is considering a shuttle service to ease congestion on summer weekends.

The morning sun puts on a show at the park’s northeastern hub, which at 6,400 feet is the highest spot you can drive to in the park. Sunsets aren’t half bad either. There are vistas of the Emmons and Winthrop glaciers, and down below is the deep V of the White River Valley.

Open year-round, the complex of administrative buildings sits on the Nisqually River at half the elevation of Paradise, meaning it’s snow-free for more months of the year, ideal for short forest rambles. Next to the museum and general store, the wide front porch of the rustic National Park Inn faces a brilliant view of Rainier—when the mountain is out, of course.

Floods washed out the road shortly past the park’s northwestern entrance, but bikers and hikers can trek five miles into the Ipsut Creek campsites. A summer-only dirt road five miles south, Route 165, leads to another walk-in campground at Mowich Lake and trails that lead to a fire lookout and alpine meadows.

The ski area, just outside park boundaries, transforms in summer to an outdoor sports mecca, turning downhill slopes into hiking and biking trails. The state’s highest restaurant, the Summit House, has a mountain view at the top of the gondola.

The town is little more than a loose string of rental cabins, mountaineering shops, and restaurants, but it’s home base for much of the park’s outdoor activity. Located near the Nisqually Park entrance, make a stop for pizza at Rainier Basecamp Bar and Grill or famous blackberry pie at Copper Creek Inn.

Above the trees and in the tundra, these ridges resemble a moonscape. Besides the First, Second, and Third Burroughs mountains, hikers can sometimes see avalanches on Rainier’s flanks. The catcalls coming from the rocks? They’re marmot whistles.

The granddaddy of interpretive trails is a gentle saunter through a patch of hemlocks, cedars, and Douglas firs as ancient as 1,000 years old. The old dudes are so big—some are 50 feet in diameter—and can be viewed from a boardwalk trail that starts just past a not-too-swingy suspension bridge. (Note: storm damage closed the trail in 2021 and it is expected to reopen in 2027.)

This 2,955-foot climb is more intimidating than the popular Pinnacle Peak, another snowy summit in the serrated Tatoosh Range south of Paradise. But the grade is moderate to this saddle, and it offers a dizzying overlook of the Nisqually Valley with in-your-face views of the mountain.

Among the first trail loops to be snow-free each spring, this ridge offers the best seat in the house when the mountain is out. Switchback up to an overlook of Longmire, then look for a rocky clearing about a half mile later—it’s like a booster seat to a Rainier panorama.

The start of this uphill slog is paved, all the better to preserve the lush subalpine meadows. Climbers heading to Camp Muir will share the trail until the day hikers curve up some 1,500 feet above Paradise to Panorama Point, then down past waterfalls at the end of the loop. The views of the craggy Tatoosh Range are spectacular from Panorama Point, but so is the fact that there’s a remote solar-powered bathroom built into the mountain.

One of the few to straddle the national park boundary, this trail winds around Highway 410 to Yakima. The moderately strenuous loop provides killer mountain views when done clockwise, and huckleberry bushes are heavy with fruit in late summer.

Most hikers flock toward the mountain, but this near-level trail meanders east from Sunrise. The sun-bleached branches are bare because of a long-ago fire, but the ghost forest is now carpeted with wildflowers. Across the deep White River Valley is an excellent view of the Emmons Glacier.

Located between Longmire and Paradise, it offers 173 sites (plus five just for large groups) of centrally located convenience. Reserve online.

Some sites back up onto the titular waterway, but even better: All 112 of them are first come, first served, so it’s the only landing pad for car campers without reservations. Find it near the Sunrise visitor area on the mountain’s northeast side. 

The park’s biggest site sprawls across almost 200 campsites in thick old-growth forest. Named by the Upper Cowlitz who used this riverfront acreage, it’s also bookable online.

Two hotels sit inside park boundaries, both on the south side of the mountain. Recent renovations have spruced up the circa-1916 Paradise Inn, set among alpine meadows, but its true charms are the unchanged stone fireplaces on both ends of the massive great room. Under the steep roof—all the better to shake the record snowfall—are dormer windows, snug rooms, and thick wooden beams. The National Park Inn in Longmire offers a foresty vibe, complete with lounge-worthy front porch, and is open year round.

Sometimes a tent isn't going to cut it. Near the northeast corner of the park—not far from Crystal Mountain—this resort includes all creature comforts, minus the creatures. A heated outdoor pool and hot tub sit near the front of the property, while an isolated honeymoon cabin is discretely tucked into the woods. 

The best log cabins on this woody compound in Ashford have a full kitchen, a Jacuzzi tub, feather beds, and fireplaces made of massive river rocks; another has a private Zen garden. Outdoor hot tubs also dot the property.