Myrtle Falls – Mt. Rainier National Park – a picture-perfect waterfall in Washington!
One of the most beautiful viewpoints in Mt. Rainier National Park is Myrtle Falls, a beautiful waterfall tumbling down a cliff, with views of stunning Mt. Rainier nestled in the background. Reaching this viewpoint only requires a short hike (or walk, I should say!) from the Paradise area of the park. Let’s explore everything you need to know about getting to Myrtle Falls in Mount Rainier National Park!
Myrtle Falls – Location
Myrtle Falls is located in the Paradise area of Mt. Rainier National Park. You’ll want to park in the visitors center lot here – there’s plenty of parking (I’ve never had an issue), however, this area is open seasonally, so it cannot be accessed in the winter. The map below shows the distance from Longmire to Paradise:
If you’re staying outside Mt. Rainier National Park, this is roughly 45 minutes from Ashford, Washington or about an hour or so if you’re staying in Packwood, Washington.
Myrtle Falls Hike – Details
Length: 0.8 miles round trip
Type: Out and back
Trail is paved, but to get to the lower viewpoint (where you can see the falls and Mt. Rainier in the same area), you will need to descend some stairs.
Hiking to Myrtle Falls Waterfall
Once you’re parked at Paradise, simply follow the signs for the Skyline or Golden Gate Trail trail. Myrtle Falls is only a 0.4 mile hike one way along this paved trail. As you’re walking along the well-marked path, you’re likely to see tons of beautiful wildflowers.
You won’t be alone on this trail – this is one of the most popular trails and viewpoints in the park, so you will have a lot of company! If you come in the late afternoon like we did, you’ll have fewer crowds.
Once you reach the falls, you will need to go down a set of stairs to get to the famous viewpoint. It’s typically very crowded down there, but when we visited, people were polite and everyone had the chance to get the photos they wanted.
Photographing this can be a huge challenge in the late afternoon, when we were there. Getting the correct exposure on the whole scene – with Myrtle Falls in the foreground and Mt. Rainier as the backdrop – was nearly impossible, as your camera will expose for one or the other. In many of my photos, Mt. Rainier was completely blown out. If you have a graduated ND filter for your lens, this would be the time to break it out! I had to do a lot of post-processing on my photos to get them where I needed them to be, and in all honestly, they’re not quite what I wanted.
You may have better luck at a different time of day!
You’ll also need a bit of luck on your side too – Mt. Rainier is often obstructed by the clouds, so a clear day is what you want.
For more beautiful views, you’ll want to head back up from the viewpoint and cross the bridge that spans Edith Creek. You can get some great shots of Mt. Rainier with Edith Creek as the foreground too!
When you’re done, just turn around and head back the way you came – or you can explore the Skyline trail a bit more – we hiked around for a little bit here before turning back.
Where to stay when visiting Myrtle Falls / Mt. Rainier National Park
The most convenient place to stay would be the Paradise Inn, but it’s not always easy to get a reservation here. You could also try the National Park Inn, in Longmire, which is also inside the park.
I have always stayed in Packwood, Washington when visiting Mt. Rainier National Park and found it to be a good location and base for exploring Mt. Rainier National Park.
I’ve personally stayed in the Cowlitz River Lodge – and while the room was fine and so was the location, I thought the employees were rather rude, for no apparent reason. If you’re interetsed, you can check current pricing for the Cowlitz River Lodge here. Or, check current pricing for all hotels in Packwood, Washington.
You can also stay in Ashford, Washington, but it’s a very small town with not a lot of lodging choices. Check current pricing and availability here for Ashford, WA.
