A 5:30 a.m. Start and Wildflowers: One Creator’s Paradise Morning Done Right

ENUMCLAW, WA—Mount Rainier’s Paradise parking lots were already filling up before 7 a.m. on a recent Friday, which tells you everything you need to know about summer timing at the mountain.

Travel photographer @lukekellytravels documented a five-stop morning on the Paradise side of the park, entering via Stevens Canyon Road from Packwood around 5:30 a.m. According to @lukekellytravels, Reflection Lakes rewarded the early arrival with a clean mirror image of Rainier and lingering morning fog before the wind had a chance to break it up. From Paradise, the route continued on foot to Myrtle Falls—about a half-mile each way from the visitor center—then uphill to Glacier Vista for a close look at the Nisqually Glacier, and eventually toward Panorama Point on the full 5.5-mile Skyline loop with roughly 1,700 feet of elevation gain.

For Enumclaw-area readers, the mountain is under an hour’s drive up Highway 410 through the White River entrance, though the Stevens Canyon Road approach from the south offers a genuinely different angle on the park. @lukekellytravels notes that the Sunrise side of Rainier is an entirely separate experience with its own hikes and viewpoints—useful to keep in mind when planning a return trip.

The wildflowers, apparently, are not waiting for anyone who sleeps in.

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