Mt. Rainier National Park is a popular destination for family vacations. It’s easy to see why! This impressive 14,417 ft volcano is the fifth-highest point in the contiguous United States. It stands in the center of 370 square miles of wildflower meadows, dense forests, snowy alpine peaks, and in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.
Luckily, you have options when planning where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park with your kids. There are quaint country inns and campgrounds inside the park (usually the most convenient with kids!). Plus, you’ll find many hotels and RV parks with modern amenities in nearby gateway towns.
There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy breathtaking views of Mount Rainier from your bedroom window every morning wherever you stay!
While the mountain is the star of the show here, its central location makes the travel time of the scenic drives much longer than you’d expect. You can’t exactly drive over it! Mt. Rainier might be the smallest national park in the Washington region, but it’s still a huge, sprawling wilderness.
This guide outlines where to stay in Mount Rainier National Park in the best locations with essential amenities for kids. Choose the perfect place for your family’s travel style and plan a fun, memorable vacation so everyone has the best time!
Table of Contents
Where To Stay in Mt Rainier National Park: Which Towns?
Mt. Rainier National Park is one, cohesive area with a park entrance in all four corners. Two sections are the most interesting places to visit. Unfortunately, they’re on opposite sides of the park (and there is no road that loops around the mountain to access all areas)!
It might make sense to book two different accommodations. Or, you might prefer to book a great place close to both of the most popular areas. Let’s break down all four sections so you can decide where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park to maximize your time.
Carbon River/Northwest
The Carbon River Entrance is in the northwest corner. It’s open to foot traffic year-round. The southern section of SR 165 closes over winter, so this entrance is only accessible via a gravel track from Wilkeson.
Mowich Lake is the highlight of this area. There are a few hiking trails through the woodland, but not much else. Carbon River is the only entrance that never requires entry reservations. If you’ve not booked a timed entry reservation for the more popular areas of the park (accessed through the White River (northest) or Nisqually (southwest) , Carbon River is a good option. But that’s likely the only reason you’d choose to lodge near this part of the park.
White River/Northeast
The White River Entrance is in the northeast corner and is open from early July to September. It’s close to the Crystal Mountain Resort on the park’s border but there aren’t tons of other towns nearby.
This is the entrance closest to the Sunrise section of the park where you’ll find fantastic hiking trails through blooming wildflower meadows…but there is no lodging in Sunrise itself.
This entrance requires timed entry reservations through recreation.gov, so make sure to make these ahead of your trip. For those traveling to Sunrise in July, tickets are available in mid-May. For August, get your pass in mid June.
Stevens Canyon/Southeast
The Stevens Canyon Entrance is towards the southeast and is usually open from late May to October. It’s a 25-minute drive from the White Pass Ski Area, also on the park’s border, and a 20-minute drive from Packwood.
This is the closest entrance to the Ohanapecosh old-growth forest and there are some hiking trails. One of the main benefits of staying around here is that this entrance is between the most popular areas of the park: Sunrise and Paradise.
Nisqually Entrance/Southwest
The Nisqually Entrance is in the southwest corner of the park and is open year-round. It provides easy access to the Longmire Historic District and Paradise areas.
The Paradise section of the park offers everything you want in a family vacation to Mt. Rainier. Vibrant meadows, family-friendly hiking trails, waterfalls, and lakes are in abundance. Bring your kids here in winter for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing instead of paying for Whitepass Ski Resort passes!
Many visitors stay in the closest town of Ashford as it’s only an 8-minute drive from Nisqually Entrance. Anyone taking a day trip from Seattle (1 hour and 45-minute drive) usually heads to this area.
Where to Stay at Mt Rainier National Park: Interactive Map
Below you’ll find an interactive map that highlights each of the lodging recommendations made in this article.
How to Use This Map:
Click on any of the lodging recommendations marked in this color with the bed icon (for lodges/cabins/resorts) or tent icon for campgrounds. A popup will open discussing the selection in greater detail. The four park entrances are labeled in this color.
Clicking the star next to the name of the map will save the map to your google account. To access it later on a computer or your smartphone, open google maps and select “Your Places”.
Where To Stay in Mt Rainier National Park: Lodges, Inns & Hotels
Because I want you to find the best accommodations so you have a truly enjoyable time at the park, I’m going to call out the options I personally think are the top choices (I get no kickbacks from any of these, so this is based truly on my own personal experience and research). I’ve marked my favorites with an asterisk*.
1. National Park Inn*
- Section: Paradise
- Distance from Mt. Rainier Entrance: Inside the park!
- Rating: 3-star hotel open year-round
- Accommodates: up to 4 guests
- Families Love: Free parking, full-service dining room, gift shop, general store, and winter rentals
National Park Inn is one of two Mount Rainier National Park hotels, and both historic lodges are in the Paradise Corridor. This 1911 inn has a great location in the Nisqually River Valley near Longmire Museum. You can walk along family-friendly trails like Wonderland and Trail of the Shadows.
Guest rooms are simple yet comfortable and are free from Wi-Fi, TVs, air-conditioning, and phones. It’s the perfect place to get back to nature and enjoy those mountain views! Thankfully, they do have coffee makers and hairdryers. Note that some rooms don’t have private bathrooms, but most do.
2. Paradise Inn*
- Section: Paradise
- Distance from Mt. Rainier Entrance: Inside the park!
- Rating: 3-star hotel open May – September
- Accommodates: up to 4 guests
- Families Love: Free parking, full-service dining room, café, gift shop, and general store
According to Mt. Rainier Guest Services, the historic Paradise Inn is one of the “great lodges of the west.” It’s open in the summer and offers unparalleled access to kid-friendly mountain trails. Skyline is a favorite, but the waterfall trail to Myrtle Falls is also unmissable.
The hotel rooms in the original Mt. Rainier lodge have shared bathrooms (just like they did in 1916!). Luckily, most rooms in the 1920 annex have private bathrooms. Some even have two bedrooms and a sitting room for more space.
Sadly, these aren’t air-conditioned rooms. There’s no Wi-Fi, TVs, or phones either. What Paradise Inn lacks in modern amenities, it makes up for in old-world charm and location.
3. Stone Creek Lodge*
- Town: Ashford WA
- Distance from Nisqually Entrance: 0.3 miles/1 minute
- Rating: 2-star hotel open year round
- Accommodates: up to 4 guests
- Families Love: free Wi-Fi, off-road parking, gas log fireplaces, kitchenettes, and games
When looking for where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park, you should include Stone Creek Lodge. Although it’s not technically inside the park, you could almost walk to the National Park Service Nisqually entrance booth (the only entrance open all year), it’s so close (but on a busy road, so I wouldn’t recommend doing so).
Though close to the entrance of the park, there aren’t many options for food nearby. But the National Park Inn’s restaurant inside the park is only about a 10-15 minute drive.
Stone Creek Lodge’s cozy cabins are made from cedar wood with quintessential lodge decor. With air-conditioning, private bathrooms, and kitchens, this property features all the modern amenities you might not get in a national park accommodation. Some even have a private hot tub!
Families can take the opportunity to put away screens every evening. There are lovely gardens to stroll through on property. Make use of the complimentary board games, lawn games, and have fun at the nightly campfires instead! Plus, the owners of the resort are lovely people!
4. Cowlitz River Lodge
- Town: Packwood WA
- Distance from Stevens Canyon Entrance: 13.4 miles/19 minutes
- Rating: 2-star hotel open year-round
- Accommodates: up to 8 guests
- Families Love: Pet-friendly, free Wi-Fi, free parking, and air-conditioning
Cowlitz River Lodge offers chalet suites for families looking for comfortable accommodations at a low price. Most rooms have a kitchenette and flat-screen TV, with views of deer and elk roaming the meadows outside.
Packwood is one of the best locations for access to Mt. Rainier National Park. It has many laidback restaurants for a quick meal, grocery stores, and it’s close to the park.
5. Mountain Meadows Inn B&B
- Town: Ashford WA
- Distance from Nisqually Entrance: 6.7 miles/9 minutes
- Rating: 3-star hotel
- Accommodates: up to 4 guests
- Families Love: Free breakfast, free Wi-Fi, free parking, and campfires with wood/kindling included
Craftsman-style Mountain Meadows Inn offers elegant suites in a relaxing, forest environment. All rooms received complimentary breakfasts and wood to make fires, plus upgraded suites have kitchenettes, separate bedrooms, and/or terraces.
6. LOGE Alta Crystal Resort
- Section: Sunrise
- Distance from White River Entrance: 8 miles/12 minutes
- Rating: 2-star hotel open year-round
- Accommodates: up to 6 guests
- Families Love: Outdoor pool, pet-friendly, hot tub, game room, and winter gear rentals
Alta Crystal Resort is perfect for families looking for where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park with amenities. Choose from spacious modern suites to private cabins, each with its own kitchen and stone fireplace. Larger rooms have terraces and some have private hot tubs!
You can’t beat resort-style accommodations for kid-friendly amenities! Chill out in the pool after a long day of hiking, or check out the game room. There are bike rentals in summer and snowshoe rentals in winter.
7. Copper Creek Inn
- Town: Ashford WA
- Distance from Nisqually Entrance: 2.4 miles/4 minutes
- Rating: 3-star hotel open year-round
- Accommodates: up to 13 guests
- Families Love: Pet-friendly, kitchenettes, free Wi-Fi, picnic tables, fire pits, and gas fireplaces
Copper Creek Inn is a restaurant with two upstairs suites that has been an Ashford institution since 1946. It still is, except they also have 10 beautiful self-contained cabins scattered throughout the forest nearby.
Some cabins have up to five bedrooms, so it’s a great option for where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park for multi-generational families. All cabins have a private hot tub and at least a kitchenette. Some even have a washer and dryer!
8. Nisqually Lodge
- Town: Ashford WA
- Distance from Nisqually Entrance: 5.1 miles/7 minutes
- Rating: 3-star hotel open year-round
- Accommodates: up to 8 guests
- Families Love: Free parking, TV in guest rooms, and pet-friendly
Nisqually Lodge might only have 24 rooms, but they’re spacious enough for families of four to eight people. It’s simply decorated but offers everything you need (including kitchenettes) for a budget stay close to Mt. Rainier. Some rooms have balconies too.
9. Crystal Mountain Ski Resort Lodging*
- Town: Enumclaw WA
- Distance from Nisqually Entrance: 12.4 miles/20 minutes
- Rating: various depending on accommodation style chosen
- Accommodates: depends on accommodation style; hotel rooms for up to parties of 6, condos can fit even larger parties
- Families Love: Mt. Rainier shuttle, variety of activities (ropes course, climbing wall, gondola rides), dining options on property
Crystal Mountain Resort offers a variety of lodging options, from 30 or 50-amp RV hookups, to hotel rooms (in three different buildings, some that can accommodate up to a family of 6), to cozy, chalet-style condominiums.
In the winter, this is a ski-resort. During summer months, non-snow-related activities abound! Enjoy a scenic gondola ride to the top of the mountain, take your family to the ropes course or climbing walls on property, play disc golf, or pan for gold in the on-site sluice…and visit Mt. Rainier, of course!
The resort even offers a Mt. Rainier shuttle to the Sunrise Visitor Center during the summer months…so no need to bother with timed-entry reservations, or fighting for parking spots.
Here you can also enjoy the convenience of on-property dining options to include the Thistle Pub & Grille (open year-round). Their other dining options are open only during peak summer and winter months and include: Summit House restaurant, Brew 62, Fireside Cantina, Tower 16, Quickstop Yurt (snack options for those participating in the ropes course), and the B-Lot General Store.
Where To Stay in Mt Rainier National Park: Camping
Mt. Rainier has three auto campgrounds inside the park and some RV parks just outside. Other campgrounds in Mt. Rainier are for backcountry hikers who require a wilderness permit. Unfortunately, none are open year-round, but you wouldn’t want to camp here in winter anyway!
9. Cougar Rock Campground*
- Section: Paradise
- Distance from Mt. Rainier Entrance: Inside the park!
- Time of Year: Late May- early October
- Dogs Allowed? Yes
- Facilities: Potable water, flush toilets, picnic area, and fire pits
Cougar Rock Campground is a rustic yet welcoming campsite for tent and RVers alike. With 179 sites, it’s a large campground but its forest setting keeps it feeling secluded.
It’s in a perfect location if you’re looking for where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park. Cougar Rock is close to the Wonderland Trail and waterfalls like Christine Falls, Myrtle Falls, and Martha Falls.
10. White River Campground
- Section: Sunrise
- Distance from Mt. Rainier Entrance: Inside the park!
- Time of Year: Late June – late September
- Dogs Allowed? Yes
- Facilities: Flush toilet, picnic tables, fire grates, and potable water
Located at the base of Mt. Rainier on the banks of White River, this is the best campground for easy access to the Sunrise Corridor. It’s a smaller campground with 88 sites for RVs and tents, and it is a first-come, first-serve-only campground.
One of the best things about White River Campground is the amphitheater. Rangers often led campfire talks here in the peak summer season. It’s also close to the Wonderland Trail and Summerland Trail.
11. Ohanapecosh Campground*
- Section: Stevens Canyon
- Distance from Mt. Rainier Entrance: Inside the park!
- Time of Year: Late May – early October
- Dogs Allowed? Yes
- Facilities: Potable water, flush toilets, picnic tables, and fire grates
Ohanapecosh Campground is similar to Cougar Rock because it’s a large, rustic 179-site campground. It’s in an ideal location if you’re looking for where to stay in Mt. Rainier National Park between Paradise and Sunrise.
It’s in a hidden old-growth forest close to the Silver Falls Loop and Grove of the Patriarchs.
12. Maple Grove Resort (KM Resorts)
- Distance from Stevens Canyon Entrance: 29.9 miles/37 minutes
- Time of Year: Open year-round
- Dogs Allowed? Yes
- Facilities: Indoor swimming pool, playground, lawn games, Wi-Fi, and hook-ups
When traveling in an RV as a family, you can’t stay at rustic campgrounds without showers and activities every night! Maple Grove Resort is the closest full-service RV park to Mt. Rainier National Park and it’s worth the drive.
You’ll find a kids’ clubhouse, swimming pool, a 9-hole golf course, and games to keep the whole family occupied. There’s an onsite café too. Membership to KM Resorts isn’t required to book a stay here.
Choose Where To Stay in Mt Rainier National Park for Your Family Trip
Whether you’re a family who camps or a family who likes to sleep at night (ha ha), you’ll find where to stay in Mount Rainier National Park right here!
Luckily, there’s a range of Mt Rainier lodging options to suit all types of family vacations and kids of all ages.
Looking for more information about Mt Rainier NP, or family-friendly accommodations in more amazing US national parks? Be sure to check out these articles, too:
- Mount Rainier National Park
- Where to Stay at Grand Teton National Park: Family Guide
- Where To Stay To See Glacier National Park – For Families
- Where to Stay When Visiting Yosemite NP: 13 TOP Picks
- Where To Stay in Shenandoah National Park [For Families]
- 12 Best Places to Stay in Yellowstone [for Families]
- Where To Stay In Grand Canyon National Park: 15 Best Family Options
- 15 Best Zion National Park Places to Stay for Families
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