This snowshoe route from Mt Rainier National Park's Paradise Ranger Station avoids avalanche terrain by taking the closed-in-winter Paradise Valley Road down to the 4th Crossing Trail, then ascending our organization's eponymous ridge to a close-up viewpoint of Mt Rainier and--on beautiful winter days--views of the Tatoosh Range and volcanoes to the south. Every vehicle needs a U.S. national park pass and must carry chains, with AWD vehicles preferred.

Activity Notes

Start your 2020s with a snowshoe in Mt Rainier National Park. From Paradise we'll ascend a ridge that shares a name with our organization via a route that avoids avalanches. Given ideal conditions, we will have a closeup view of Mt Rainier and winter views of the Tatoosh range and the big volcanoes to the south. This is a moderate-difficulty snowshoe. Please only sign up if you are starting the decade in excellent condition and/or have previous snowshoe experience--and if you don't plan to stay up too late on New Years Eve. 

Other Information
Driving Distance from Portland 156 miles
Driving Time from Portland 3 hours
Distance - Round Trip 3 miles
Interesting Features Mountain Views
Relevant Books Snowshoe Routes Washington, 3rd Edition
Useful Links