Day Hike - Paradise Area Trails

Meet at 9 AM at the Highlander Bar and Grill, 30319 WA-706, Ashford.  Restrooms are available there.  Carpooling should be completed before arriving there.  We are meeting there to be sure that every car has a National Park Pass to show when we stop at the Nisqually entrance booth of Mt. Rainier National Park.  If necessary, we can have people switch cars, to be sure every car has a pass. 

The drive from the Highlander Restaurant takes us through the Nisqually Entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park, where we show passes, then through Longmire and past a viewpoint overlooking the Nisqually Valley, to the parking lot at Paradise by the Jackson Visitor Center, where there are restrooms.

Our hike is on a rather steady uphill grade, first on asphalt and then on gravel, looping left on the way up to stop at Glacier View and stopping for lunch and the turnaround point at Panorama Point, where there is a restroom.  We will return on a more direct route down Skyline Trail.

After returning to the parking lot, we can stop at the Jackson Visitor Center to look at exhibits there, use the restrooms, and possibly buy refreshments.  An alternative refreshment stop on the drive home would be in Ashford, where the Copper Creek Inn, the Mountain Berry Restaurant, the Base Camp Bar and Grill and the Base Camp Ice Cream Shop all get good reviews.