Paradise Glacier View

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Features Geological Significance · Historical Significance · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Take a lightly traveled route off of the Skyline Loop to find different views of Mount Rainier and a large (but shrinking) glacier high on its slopes.

You can choose start this route from the main Paradise parking area and visitor center, but the shorter alternative starting from 4th Crossing trailhead is mapped here. Take the 4th Crossing Trail steeply up to meet the Skyline Trail loop and turn right. Some switchbacks help with the ascent as the trail gains Mazama Ridge, and views of the mountain grow more impressive overhead.

Continuing upward, you'll get some impressive views of Sluiskin Falls. Soon after, you'll reach the Stevens-Van Trump Memorial and the junction for Paradise Glacier Trail. This lightly traveled trail is the one you'll take to get even higher and closer to the glaciers.

The trail leads through rocky meadows and cascading meltwater streams. Patches of snow can linger into the summer, so in the spring you may have to cross significant stretches of snow. The trail goes for about one mile until a sign marks its endpoint, but it's possible to continue higher up, on somewhat rougher terrain, for even better views.

Nearly a century ago, the Paradise-Stevens Glacier area was one of the national park's main attractions. At that time, the bottom of the glacier was riddled with ice caves and crevasses and was within easy walking distance of major roads. An 1896 map of the glacier places its terminus within 0.6 mile (1 km) of Sluiskin Falls. However, by the 1970s the glacier area had decreased to less than 50% of its 1896 area and separated into two small segments of stagnant ice (glacier ice no longer in motion). In 2023, the Stevens Glacier was officially removed from the Park's inventory, due to its lack of features indicating flow, and therefore is no longer a glacier but instead a perennial snowfield. What's left of the Paradise Glacier is now high above it's former extent, so hiking this trail is the only way to get a good view. - Information from Mount Rainier National Park website.