Beautiful, astonishing, breathtaking – these are just a few words that you might use when you see Rainer. And that is just when you see it from as far away as Seattle. The closer you get to it, the fewer words there are to describe it with due justice.

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Although Rainer looks at rest, it is an active volcano with a fairly recent eruption in 1895. It is the tallest peak in the Cascades at 14,411 feet. The high elevation means it remains snow-capped year-round. Additionally, there are 25 separate glaciers that adorn its peak. The presence of this vast amount of snow and ice pose the greatest threat in the next eruption according to the United States Geological Survey. Dangerous lahars are formed when superheated gases melt the snow and ice. The rushing melt water accumulates ash, rock and debris, bulldozing it way through valleys.

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Rainer National Park was established in 1899, making it the fifth national park. At the center of the park is, of course, the peak of Rainer. But surrounding it are mountain ridges, rivers, waterfalls, and alpine lakes. There are few roads into the park’s interior. One of the few leads to Paradise and the Jackson Memorial Visitor Center which sit at 5,400 feet. This is the highest elevation reachable by car on the southside of the park. From Paradise, you can get a great view of Rainer’s peak, as well as the valleys below.

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I was not able to visit the Sunrise Visitor Center, in the Northeast corner of the park, or the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center, in the Southeast corner of the park. These visitor centers are not as accessible as Longmire and Paradise. But according to people I spoke to who have visited these areas, they are equally as beautiful.

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The great thing about Rainer is that you can experience the essence of the park in one day or continue to explore its deeper personally over multiple days. If you like hiking, the park has a surprising number of trails with varying degree of difficulty. There’s also an opportunity to break out your mountain bike to ride closed gravel roads into the interior of the park. With most trails and gravel roads, you lose the view of Rainer. I chose to stay near the road and catch different perspectives of Rainer at different times of the day and to soak up the restful tranquility that the park offered.

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When planning your trip to Rainer, do your homework on the areas of the park you wish to explore and if roads to those areas are open. Remember that you are in the heart of the Cascade Range with high elevations and limited services. July seemed to be a great time to explore the park, as it was almost entirely accessible. It’s only a few hours from Seattle and a bit further from Portland. As an added bonus, you can incorporate a trip to Mount St. Helens.