ghia74

I will arrive in SEA with my 8 year old son on a Sunday in late August. We will pick up a car for a day trip to Mount Rainier. NP. The day will end in downtown Seattle where we will return the car. I am thinking we will get about 4 hours in the park and am thinking Sunrise is our best spot to visit. Want a good view of Mount Rainier and get in a nice medium hike. Am I correct on Sunrise? Should I arrive via the NW or SE entrance? Any good lunch/snack spots along the way?

evergrn

Both Sunrise and Paradise are nice but, for a first-time visitor, Paradise may be better (despite the crowd). You hike up the meadow with streams and waterfall running down with the Rainier in the immediate backdrop... you don't have that at Sunrise although it's still very nice there. The only thing is, the parking at Paradise fills up quickly on a summer weekend. Are you arriving in SEA and then heading down the same day to Rainier? The Paradise parking lot may be full even before 10am. I haven't been to Sunrise in a long time... never had parking problems there, although it's possible I've never been there on a weekend.

djp98374

If you are arriving on Sunday in Seattle and then want to go o mt rainier...this is pushing it.

Sunrise is not good for an afternoon visit. It's name is when you want o isit it.

It will take 90 min at least to get to the main gate entry for paradise then 30-45 minutes into the park to get to paradise.

On weekends traffic is heavy. The park runs a shuttle service on the weekends to paradise. Unsure the hours it runs.

Parking at paradise on a sunny day will be very difficult.

Better option...do it on Monday.

ghia74

We arrive about 7:30 am on Sunday and I figured would be on the road by 8:30. I was thinking Sunday over Monday as I figured I would be closer to the park from SEA than downtown Seattle. If you think crowds would be better on Monday we could tour around Seattle on Sunday and rent a car on Monday to see the park. Would leaving 9am Monday be ok for traffic?

Gardyloo

This is the better option IMO.

evergrn

Traffic heading down will be fine at 9am on Monday. I agree that Mon is preferable to Sun, all else being equal (weather, etc). However, Aug is a busy month in general and I just wonder if there will be parking available at Paradise, arriving so late. I'd imagine late morning ~ early afternoon would be peak time. My friends have been to Paradise on a weekend morning around 10a and the lot was full already. We went on a weekday in Aug late afternoon (3 or 4pm), and there were only a few spaces available. Maybe others who've there to Paradise on a summer weekday morning can chime in. If you want to be safe, I'd plan on getting there around 9am even on a Monday.

Gardyloo

I was there on Labor Day Monday a couple of years ago - hot and sunny, and there was still room in the Paradise parking lots around noon. But it's far from empty - LOTS of people.

I found lots of parking even at peak times by the lakes on the Stevens Canyon road, however, so that might be an alternative. Not much of a hiker, so not sure how convenient/possible that would be for wildflower tromping.

Nice views, though -

ghia74

Great photo Gardyloo. Thanks everyone for the advice. I will pickup the car at 7:30 Monday and drive to Mount Rainier via the SW entrance.

The only negative in my planning for 2.5 days in SEA was that I did not realize until now that Salumis is not open on Sundays or Mondays.

BearX220

Only about 13 minutes closer. Not enough to factor into your thinking. It's about 75 miles from Seattle, 67 miles from SEA.

Eat at Tat's Deli in Pioneer Square instead.

http://www.tatsdeli.com/

SalishSea

For OP and anyone considering a visit to Mount Rainier: I went up to Sunrise yesterday (Saturday morning) and arrived around 9:30. There was still plenty of parking in the main lot, but this might have had to do with some stormy weather coming in. By the time we returned from our hike mid-afternoon, this lot and the overflow lot were full.

The view of the mountain itself from Sunrise is spectacular all day long. The Visitor Center (open at 10 AM) staff was very helpful in advising hikes appropriate for age and skill levels, current conditions, etc. When we stopped by at the end of the day, quite a few youngsters took the Junior Ranger oath and got badges after completing a list of activities. Frozen Lake (1 1/2 miles from the Visitor Center) is a great spot for a family picnic. While not as big as Paradise, it has plenty to offer.

Most importantly: Do not forget bug spray! :0

evergrn

Bugs? Mosquitos? My family (except me) is going up there this week. They're going to Paradise, though. It's been a long time since I was at Sunrise, but I don't remember bug issues at Paradise in August. My kids hate bugs.

So Sunrise parking does also fill up, eh? That's good to know.

djp98374

If there are wildflowers out there will be bugs. I am not up to date on the flowers are now.

The issue with sunrise is that if you are going to take pics of the mountain then you need to be there in the AM. In the PM the sun will interfere with Mt Rainier pics.