Saturday I decided it was finally time to take a break from the yard and the house and take the kids to do something fun. Last year I bought some books that tell where you can go to hike some good trails. One of them is called "Day Hikes for Kids". The book is great and it tells you what level the hikes are so you know if your kids can handle it depending on what their ages ares. I found one that was not too far away and we headed out.
We stopped and got some subway sandwiches along the way and then made our way up to the turn off. This trail is called the Rainier View Trail. You head past Enumclaw about 31 miles and then take forest service rd 7174 to the left. You have to drive up a dirt road about 6 miles and then you come out in a clearing where there is a parking lot. You can camp up there as well but we were just there for the day. The trail is about 1 1/2 miles up so a round trip of 3 miles. The view is amazing when you get to the top! It is well work the hike up. It was not too steep but Maddy, my 8 year old wasn't liking it towards the end. There were lots of wildflowers to pick, snow mounds that still had not melted that the kids could slide down. Who would think you'd find snow in July?
You could also see Mt. Adams off in the distance and the panoramic view of the Rainier Valley was amazing. Even the dogs had a good time, including Peppy, my parents dog. Jack was a looking more like a brown dog though by the time we got back to the car. It was a bit dusty and he's pure white, not a good combination!
My kids have asked every day this week what new hikes we can go on. I wish we had more free days to just take off and explore. There are so many beautiful places here in Washington to see. I've lived here a good chunk of my life and I'm still awed by how many places I've come upon that I didn't know existed!
My kids had a great time, got some exercise, and this was my first hike since my knee surgery in April! Funny thing was, my left knee hurt more than the knee I had surgery on? Weird huh! I recommend this to anyone who wants to get an awe inspiring view of Mount Rainier!
Cameron by a little stream at the bottom of the trail.
Maddy on top of a huge snow mound!
Jordan with Mt. Rainier in the background. I was terrified he was going to fall off the cliff!
Cameron, Jordan, and Maddy with Jack and Pep.
9 comments:
Oooo I've been DYING for a good hike this summer! Maybe I'll give this one a try! xoxo
What a great day hike for the family...throw in a picnic lunch and the day is perfect! Does it get any better than that?
We're going to have to try that one! OK, I know you can walk now. When are you going to walk with me????
Wow, what beautiful scenery. Sounds like so much fun! I can't wait for my hubby's foot to heal so we can enjoy a good hike.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that we stopped off at the king co fair on our way home for some fair food. It was free to get in so what a great way to get my scone fix. I didn't want to wait until the puyallup fair!
Yeah, Wendy, I need to start walking again. I noticed tonight at soccer practice that I wasn't hardly limping anymore. It still is sore if I do too much but one more month to go before I can run. Walking should be fine though. Give me a holler and we'll go. Time for me to get back into shape!
FUN! I wonder if Aubrey could make it...
That view is so beautiful! What a fun thing to do with the kids. I'll have to take my kids on a hike. Thank's for the inspiring pictures! I should start walking with both you and Wendy, if I can even afford the gas to drive to the trail! I'm having to stick around home a lot more this summer!My car is such a GAS HOG!!!
Looks gorgeous! Now if I can just convince Jake that hiking REALLY isn't THAT bad!
I love the mountains in WA. The views are beautifull.
We'll see you in few weeks:)
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