Chinook Scenic Byway
Mount Rainier National Park, WA

This monarch of the Cascade Range has been called the Great Pyramid of the United States. No other mountain on the continent exceeds Rainier in bulk of rock masses, number of glaciers (26 active), or extent of base. Nearly all of Mt. Rainier National Park's 337 square miles belong to the mighty mountain.

Geologists believe the original peak lost 2,000 feet in a volcanic blast creating a crater three miles square. Three cinder cones grew together surrounding the crater rim: Columbia Crest, the central snowy dome, Point Success to the south and Liberty Cap to the north. The British explorer, Captain George Vancouver, discovered the mountain in 1792 and named it for a fellow naval officer, Peter Regnier, now spelled Rainier.

Mount Rainier National Park is a mountain wonderland of dense forests, dazzling wildflowers, tremendous snowfields, and rugged glaciers. Enjoy the fresh smell of trees and soil, the soothing (or sometimes deafening) sound of falling water, and the refreshing cold breezes off the glaciers.

Towering above all this scenic display is magnificent Mount Rainier, a relatively young volcano as it is only about one million years old. Even if the weather is foggy or misty, you will discover a world that is beautiful and quiet.

You may come to appreciate the fog because it forces you to look at the world close-by rather than always straining to see the mountain. You can examine closely the radiant wildflowers that take on a deeper color in the mist, or search for signs of wildlife that inhabit the forest floor and the meadows.