Scale of 1-10:: 8.5 !

Notes: The national forest is ideal for Ducati riding. The roads are twisty and the scenery is beautiful. About the only thing wrong with this ride is that's it's TOO beautiful, hence the presense of lots of gawking tourists in minivans. If you can take this trip on a weekday morning you'll be better off.

Why it's not a 10: Lots of traffic, some of the roads are not in great shape. This is a very popular tourist attraction.

The Route: It's only about an hour from Seattle which makes this an excellent day trip. You can easily spend 2-3 hours just seeing the roads in the park. If you're a hiker bring your boots and a backpack for a perfect picnic. There are enough trails on this mountain to keep a hiker busy for a lifetime. Here's our route:

1. South on I-5 to 167, 167 to 7, 7 into the park (this is the dull part). Pay your $5 to enter. Keep your receipt!
2. Entrance to Paradise - lunch spot. These roads are great! Bring your own lunch, the restaurant sucks.
3. Paradise to 410
4. 410 back into park to Sunrise - best roads on the trip! Present your receipt - you kept it didn't you?
5. Sunrise back down to 410
6. 410 to Enumclaw
7. Enumclaw to Issaquah
8. Issaquah to Seattle, via I-90 (blah)

Other information:
- Rainier II - Chinook Loop
- Mount Rainier National Park homepage
- "unofficial" Mt. Rainier site