Where to Stay at Mt Rainier National Park

Paradise sits at 5,400 feet on the south slope, and the Paradise Inn is the only lodge here. You step out the door and you are on the Skyline Trail, looking straight at the Nisqually Glacier. The historic 1917 lodge has no TVs, no elevators, and the cell signal dies somewhere past Longmire. Rooms in the main building share bathrooms down the hall. Annex rooms have private baths and cost more. Book through recreation.gov twelve months out for July and August weekends, or you will not get a room. The Paradise Inn Dining Room serves bourbon salmon and a decent breakfast buffet, and that is your only food option after the Jackson Visitor Center cafe closes at 5 PM.

Best for

Hikers who want first light on the wildflower meadows and zero driving

Walk times

Skyline Trail trailhead 2 min
Jackson Visitor Center 5 min
Myrtle Falls overlook 15 min

Skip if: You need air conditioning, reliable wifi, or are visiting between October and late May when the inn is closed

Local tip: Ask for an annex room on the second floor facing the mountain. Rooms 217-225 have the best Rainier views and private bathrooms.

Compare prices across providers

Prices shown for 1 room, 2 adults. Click to see current availability.

$314per night

Longmire

Year-round basecamp inside the park

Luxury $220-$380/night

Longmire is twelve miles inside the Nisqually entrance at 2,700 feet, and the National Park Inn stays open all year. That matters in winter when Paradise Road closes and Longmire becomes the snowshoe and cross-country ski hub. The 25-room inn is smaller and quieter than Paradise, with a wraparound porch facing the Tatoosh Range. Rooms have private bathrooms, no TVs, and limited wifi in the lobby only. The General Store next door rents snowshoes for $20 a day in winter. The Longmire Museum and the Trail of the Shadows boardwalk are both a two-minute walk. From here it is a 35-minute drive up to Paradise on a good day, longer when the road is icy or backed up at the gate.

Best for

Winter visitsslower-paced tripsanyone who wants to hike straight from their room

Walk times

Trail of the Shadows loop 2 min
Longmire Museum 3 min
Wonderland Trail access 5 min

Skip if: Your priority is sunrise photos at Paradise. The drive up takes 35 minutes and the parking lot fills by 7 AM in summer

Local tip: Eat dinner at the inn restaurant by 6 PM. They run out of the blackberry cobbler most nights, and the kitchen closes at 8 sharp.

Compare prices across providers

Prices shown for 1 room, 2 adults. Click to see current availability.

$246per night

Ashford

Budget basecamp at the Nisqually Gate

Mid-range $140-$260/night

Ashford is a six-mile strip of cabins, lodges, and the Copper Creek Inn restaurant on Highway 706, ending at the Nisqually park entrance. This is where you stay when Paradise Inn is full or costs too much. Stone Creek Lodge, Alexander's Lodge, and a dozen cabin rentals along Kernahan Road and Skate Creek Road run $140-$260 in summer. The drive to the Nisqually entrance is ten minutes, and Paradise is another 35 minutes from there. Hit the gate before 8 AM in July and August or you will sit in a line of cars. Wildberry Restaurant on the highway does Nepalese food and stays open until 9 PM, which matters because almost everything else in Ashford closes at 7. There are no chain hotels here, no Starbucks, and the nearest grocery is in Eatonville, 25 minutes west.

Best for

Travelers who want park access without paying inside-the-park rates

Walk times

Wildberry Restaurant 3 min
Copper Creek Inn 5 min
Nisqually entrance gate 10 min

Skip if: You want walkable nightlife or restaurants past 9 PM. Ashford is a single road through the woods

Local tip: Stop at the Highlander on the way in for huckleberry pancakes. They open at 7 AM and the line out the door starts around 8:30 on weekends.

Compare prices across providers

Prices shown for 1 room, 2 adults. Click to see current availability.

$157per night

Packwood

Eastern gateway, fewer crowds

Mid-range $120-$220/night

Packwood is on Highway 12, fifteen miles from the Stevens Canyon entrance on the southeast side of the park. Most visitors never come here because they enter at Nisqually, but Packwood is the smart base for Sunrise, Ohanapecosh, and the Grove of the Patriarchs. Crystal Mountain Hotels, Cowlitz River Lodge, and the Hotel Packwood on Main Street run $120-$220, cheaper than Ashford. Blanton's Market is a real grocery store, which Ashford does not have. Mountain Goat Coffee opens at 6 AM. From Packwood it is 30 minutes to the Ohanapecosh entrance and 75 minutes to Sunrise, the highest point you can drive to in the park at 6,400 feet. Sunrise opens late June and closes mid-September, so this base only makes sense in summer.

Best for

Sunrise and Ohanapecosh accesssummer tripstravelers who want a real grocery store

Walk times

Mountain Goat Coffee 3 min
Blanton's Market 5 min
Cliff Droppers burger joint 4 min

Skip if: You are visiting in winter or only have one day. Driving from Packwood to Paradise is 90 minutes each way

Local tip: Get to Sunrise before 9 AM in July and August. The Sunrise Rim Trail loop takes three hours and the parking lot is full by 10.

Compare prices across providers

Prices shown for 1 room, 2 adults. Click to see current availability.

$134per night