Getting here:
Some one hour from Nisqually Entrance through a number of hairpin bends and steep climbs.

Description:
The journey to Paradise, pun intended, was nothing short of mesmerizing. Within 3 hours of the coach journey, I have gone from the humid streets of downtown Seattle to snow-clad road surface of Mount Rainier National Park.

At Paradise, the state-of-the-art Jackson Visitor Center greeted me. While the distinguished architecture of the visitor center is imposing and worth a mention, the main attention naturally goes to the behemoth glacier-clad peaks of Mt Rainier. While so much has been said about the beauty of sub-alpine meadows and glorious wild flowers, the snow and ice at Paradise had yet to melt away for the vegetation to thrive.

I took a short stroll up the slope near the visitor center. The ground was still heavenly laden with ice despite the scorching spring weather. I even had my light sweater on and was toying with the idea to take it off. The trail looked more like a ski slope than a rolling meadow. Nonetheless, it was simply breathtaking to view the majestic Mt Rainier up close and personal at Paradise.