Exploring the

Pacific Northwest
Popular Northwest destinations worth visiting.

By Katie Jordan
Mount Rainier National Park
Commented [A1]: I may add a paragraph before the
Mount Rainier section that outlines all the trips

Mount Rainier National Park located 80 miles (128 km) from Seattle, Washington and is a
popular destination for sight seers, hikers, climbers and photographers.
Iconic Mount Rainier is 14,410 feet above sea level. Subalpine wildflower meadows surround
the volcano and ancient forests ring the lower slopes. Whether you’re heading to Rainier for
the day, overnight or an extended hiking trip, you’re bound to find new adventures. [TIP: To
view this document in Read Mode, tap or click the View menu, then tap/click Read Mode.]
Commented [A2]: Need to add photo caption

Paradise Visitor Center at Mount Rainier

Commented [A3R2]: Updated the photo and added

caption

Take a Hikehike
Trails lead through peaceful old growth forest, colourful meadows (late summer) and river
valleys. Check out the most popular day hikes at both the Paradise side of Mt. Rainier and
Longmire. [TIP: Click the table to display the Design and Layout Table Tools. Check out how
easy it is to format a table.]
Round
Trail1 Description of Hikehike Trail head Distance
Triptrip Commented [A4]: Add a map

West end of the

Nisqually Enjoy excellent views of Mount 1.2 miles,
lower parking 45 minutes
Vista Trail Rainier and the Nisqually Glacier. loop trail
lotcar park.

1
Check out this site for other great hikes. www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/day-hiking-at-mount-rainier.htm
Bench & Enjoy two lakes along this trail. Stevens Canyon 2.5 miles
Snow Lakes See bear grass & flowers. Road, roundtrip 2 hours

Twin Firs This short loop trail passes 2 miles west of

0.4 miles 20 minutes
Loop Trail through old growth forest Longmire.

Enjoy the Wildflowers wildflowers

For a limited time each year, Yyou’ll be able to see impressive wildflowers in the meadows
around Mt. Rainier. Depending on the weather, flowers typically bloom in late July and early
August. In the higher elevation meadows look to see lupine (blue flowers in the photo),
mountain aster, magenta paintbrush, columbine, monkey flower, fireweed, phlox, rosy spirea,
black alpine sedge, and more. In the subalpine region of the park, look for avalanche lilies,
glacier lilies, and buttercups in the early part of the season. Later in the summer, you’ll find
lupine, Indian paintbrush and Sitka Valerian. While hiking along the trails, you’ll see an
abundance of wildflowers in the open areas and meadows throughout the lower elevations
of the park.
To help you identify
wild flowers in the
field, download the
Mt. Rainier
Wildflower site
bulletin.
[TIP: Click a photo
to view Layout
options and the
Picture Tools menu].
.
SUBALPINE WILDFLOWERS BLOOM ALONG THE TRAILS OF MOUNT RAINIER.

Plan Your your Triptrip

If the Paradise side of Mt. Rainier is your destination, 19 miles (30 km) east of the Nisqually
Entrance, consider staying at the historic Paradise Inn. The nearby Paradise Jackson Visitor
Center is the place to get general information, guided ranger programs and offers a cafeteria
and gift shop. The Paradise Inn offers comfortable rooms at a reasonable price, especially for
the location. The nearby Paradise Jackson Visitor Center is the place to getfind general
information, guided ranger programmes and offers a cafeteria and gift shop. The Paradise
side of Mt. Rainier receives on average 643 inches (53.6 feet/16.3 meters) of snow a year and
offers many winter activities include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and tubing.
The road between Longmire and Paradise is plowed Where to Stay stay in
throughout the winter. the Parkpark
Longmire, the original park headquarters, is 6.5 miles (10.5  Paradise Inn, Paradise.
km) east of the Nisqually Entrance in the southwest corner of Open May - October
 National Park Inn,
the park. The old park headquarters building houses a Longmire. Open all
museum, open daily throughout the year. The historic year round.
National Park Inn, with spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, offers
a great place to stay.

Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is actually three
parks in one. The majority of its 900,000
acres is filled by the majestic Olympic
Mountains. Then there are the park’s
western rainforest valleys, which drain
into 60 miles of Pacific Coast seashore.
Each ecosystem supports diverse
populations of fish.
Taken together, these diverse areas
provide plentiful fly-fishing opportunities
all year longround. Even better, many of
these areas are usually not crowded, and
the backcountry fishing is virtually
untapped. You may find it worthwhile,
though, to do your homework and ensure,
you are heading for the right location
considering the season.
So grab your pole and your flies, and
break outforget your ferry schedule. It’s
time to head out to the Peninsula for
some fly fishing, hiking and more!
Fast Factsfacts
 [Tip: add a shaded text box, such as this
one, to highlight important information]
 12 major watersheds and more than
4,000 miles of rivers and streams.
 600 high lakes, two large lakes, and
more than 70 miles of inter-tidal habitats
along the Pacific Coast.
 Lake Ozette—– the third largest natural
lake in Washington State.
 31 native freshwater species from 11
different families of fish.
 At least 70 unique populations of Pacific
salmon, trout, and char.
 5 non-native fish species: brook trout,
yellow perch, largemouth bass, yellow
bullhead, and American shad.
 As of 2008, 5 fish species on the
federally threatened species list: bull
trout, Puget Sound steelhead, Puget
Sound Chinook salmon, Hood Canal
summer chum salmon, and Ozette Lake
sockeye salmon.

Fly Fishing fishing Hotspotshotspots

[TIP: Click the chart below to modify layout options, chart elements, chart style and colour, as
well as values and names]. The chart below tracks river discharge over the course of a week
for 3 of the best fly fishing rivers in the Olympic and can be used to predict fishing
conditions.
 Hoh, Elwha and Queets Rivers - Discharge (6/28-7/5)
Discharge, cubic feet per

2500
The Queets
2000
second

Hoh River
1500
1000 Elwha River

500
0
28-Jun 29-Jun 30-Jun 1-Jul 2-Jul 3-Jul 4-Jul 5-Jul

Discover Lake Crescent

Commented [A5]: This is one my favorite trips. Good
idea to focus on Lake Crescent.

Lake Crescent is 5,000 acres of beauty and stillness. Some people compare its sheer Commented [A6]: Mine too!

mountain peaks, which jut straight out of its crystal-clear water, to Norway’s fjords. It’s the
most famous lake in the park, not just for its beauty but also for its fishing. Common species
of trout found there include the Lake Crescent cutthroat and the Beardslee rainbow. Keep
your eyes peeled for the small but delicious Kokanee salmon as well.

Lake Crescent in the spring

If Lake Crescent is your destination, consider staying at the scenic lodge and resort, which is
located right on the lake’s western shores and run by the national park. You can stay in one
of the many cabins, eat a lovely breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the lodge, and then walk about
a hundred yards down to the lake for great fishing. Highly recommended.
There are is a variety of fish species in Lake Crescent, as well as the other lakes and rivers in
the Olympic National Park:
At a Glanceglance Hoh River Elwha River The Lake Lake Ozette Lake Quinault
Queets Crescent
 Rainbow Trout

Cutthroat Trout

Kokanee Salmon

Places to Stay
The river lodge off Highway 101 between Forks and Port Angeles makes a great base for
fishing the Peninsula, as do lodges on Lake Crescent and Lake Quinault. The owners at the
river lodge also offer a fishing guide service, specializing specialising in steelhead and salmon
outings.