Mt. Rainier

For serious mountaineers, Sunrise is a base to prepare to ascend Rainier. About 9,000 climbers attempt it each year under the guidance of trained guides. Imagine climbing up snow-covered stairs for a day and a half, much of it in the middle of the night, and you'll get some idea of whether this is for you.

But for us, Sunrise afforded spectacular views of the more familiar snow-covered northern slope of the mountain. Through a telescope we saw a thread of tiny hikers working their way down the slope. The accommodations and food available at Sunrise are more modest than further south in the park, and you could bypass it if you're in a hurry. Sunrise is a thousand feet higher than Paradise, and the meadows here are much less lush and varied (and the air correspondingly thinner).