Find your way to our Cascade Mountain retreat, before disappearing completely into the "Volcano Triangle" of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Adams . . . and the very heart of Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The fast pace and hassles of life will melt away as you embark on this adventure of natural scenic delights and wildlife so abundant, you will wonder if you are driving through the heart of a wild-life preserve.
Getting to our Packwood, WA vacation rentals, is half the fun! Leave the I-5 corridor, head east and pass Saulkum, Mossyrock, Morton, and Randle, on beautiful Hwy 12, Washington's White Pass Scenic Byway, and "Playground of Volcano Country". Stop and smell the flowers at the DeGoede Bulb Farm and show gardens, whose fields are a profusion of color almost year round., and enjoy the many vistas along the way.
All 4 of our vacation rental homes are on adjacent properties and .3 of a mile from historic, downtown Packwood, which is part of the Upper Cowlitz Valley. James Longmire and William Packwood, for whom the city is named, were the first white men to set eyes on it in 1861, searching for a shorter route from Olympia to Yakima. Others eventually joined James and William around the 1880's, settling what would later become known as Packwood. Absorb some of that past by visiting the White Pass Country Museum in the old Packwood Elementary School and an easy stroll for a world-class cup of coffee, at The Mountain Goat Coffee Roasters and Bakery (aka Butter Butte Coffee Company), where they roast their own beans and bake their own pastries. The Destination Packwood office is right across the street, for collecting that information you need for your next activity, while enjoying that steaming "cuppa" Java. No trip to town would be complete without a stop at Blanton's Market (full-service grocery store) for the elements of your next meal, or the Packwood Timberland Library for all you eager readers. The reader board at the fire station regularly announces, "Watch out for elk!" Elk appear so often in downtown Packwood, they're considered local residents.
Every season has unique offerings throughout the year: Winter activities begin, but don't end at White Pass ski area (19.3 miles east of Packwood - 23 min.), CLICK HERE to check SKI CONDITIONS. They have great family skiing and snowboard programs, terrain for all ages and all wrapped in a stunningly beautiful package. They offer lessons and rentals for classical and cross-country skiing, skating, or snowshoeing. READ (2 linked articles for the proposed and completed expansion plan for White Pass). Both Skate Creek Snow-Park and Johnson Snow-Park, offer cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and miles and miles of trails for the snowmobile zealot. Autumn offers harvest colors, Alpine flowers at Paradise, bugling male elk, the annual SCCA's Solo Autocross events at the Hampton Mill (Tour & Pro Solo, in August) the Cascade Bicycle Club's - High Pass Challenge in September (which begins and ends in Packwood), and some of the Cascade Mountain's best weather. Spring releases the trees from winter's grasp, unfolding a different variety of lower elevation wildflowers and babies of all shapes and sizes. Summer offers hiking to suit every skill level, white-water rafting at the Tieton River, horse-back riding, birding, boating, swimming, wind surfing, and shopping, just be sure to wear the appropriate foot gear, even if it means none at all. When you run out of all the above activities, there is always Packwood's western charm and hospitality as well as their semi-annual Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend community-wide flea markets.
Our vacation rental homes will serve as your home base for the above activities as well as your visits to: Mt. Rainier National Park (southeastern entrance 7 miles from our houses), Mt. Saint Helens National Monument (48 miles southwest of Packwood), and a little longer trek to Mt. Adams and their Huckleberry fields. Mt. Rainier teases with scenic vistas and dares to separate the adrenalin junkie from their fear, all while they hone their skills with extreme sports on its peaks and slopes. It also tempts the not-so-extreme with a more refined sense of activity with easy hikes to Grove of the Patriarchs, and Silver Falls.
To minimize the impact on the environment, we painted all 4 house exteriors with recycled Metro Paint and use compact fluorescent bulbs. Rainier View Lodge has a low-flow toilet, energy efficient appliances, a hot water on demand system (heats only what you use), and all the houses use refillable toiletries, and 2 of the 4 hot tubs are highly efficient energy management systems and run on 110 vs 220 volts.
Binoculars are a must if you want to spot the elusive Mountain Goats for which the Goat Rocks area is named. Birders, bring those same binoculars to Swofford Pond which hosts an excess of nesting and breeding birds, water fowl, and raptors of every kind, or travel to the Oak Creek Feeding Station toward Naches during the winter where they feed the Elk and Bighorn Sheep just 53 miles from our White Pass byway rental properties.
Don't forget your cameras! These Mt. Rainier vacation rentals provide even the most amateur photographer opportunities to capture Mount Adams (at mile marker 114) and Lakes Mayfield and Riffe at spectacular viewpoints. Hwy 12 is seldom traveled without seeing an array of wild life: elk, deer, coyotes, raccoon, bald eagles, or porcupine (one of our trips included a doe with twin fawns still sporting their spots). For those with more domesticated taste, the countryside is also filled with cattle, horses, sheep, and llamas.
All along the White Pass Scenic Byway, you can enjoy the stark contrast in life-zone changes, ranging from plateau's, low lands, and river valleys, to sub-alpine forest and even the drier and more open steppes on the eastern side of White Pass.
Don't forget your lap top! Rainier View Lodge, Bugling Elk Bungalow, Hall Creek Cabin and Mountainside Chalet come complete with WIFI. If you didn't research activities before you arrive, you can do so using the Recreation page of our website, or if you don't find what you need there, we have included additional information in the Welcome books inside each of the houses, including the closest local golf courses, information about local hiking, etc. If you still aren't finding what you want, there is always the Destination Packwood office.
And to preview some of these wonders, visit our Photo Gallery.
Getting to our Packwood, WA vacation rentals, is half the fun! Leave the I-5 corridor, head east and pass Saulkum, Mossyrock, Morton, and Randle, on beautiful Hwy 12, Washington's White Pass Scenic Byway, and "Playground of Volcano Country". Stop and smell the flowers at the DeGoede Bulb Farm and show gardens, whose fields are a profusion of color almost year round., and enjoy the many vistas along the way.
All 4 of our vacation rental homes are on adjacent properties and .3 of a mile from historic, downtown Packwood, which is part of the Upper Cowlitz Valley. James Longmire and William Packwood, for whom the city is named, were the first white men to set eyes on it in 1861, searching for a shorter route from Olympia to Yakima. Others eventually joined James and William around the 1880's, settling what would later become known as Packwood. Absorb some of that past by visiting the White Pass Country Museum in the old Packwood Elementary School and an easy stroll for a world-class cup of coffee, at The Mountain Goat Coffee Roasters and Bakery (aka Butter Butte Coffee Company), where they roast their own beans and bake their own pastries. The Destination Packwood office is right across the street, for collecting that information you need for your next activity, while enjoying that steaming "cuppa" Java. No trip to town would be complete without a stop at Blanton's Market (full-service grocery store) for the elements of your next meal, or the Packwood Timberland Library for all you eager readers. The reader board at the fire station regularly announces, "Watch out for elk!" Elk appear so often in downtown Packwood, they're considered local residents.
Every season has unique offerings throughout the year: Winter activities begin, but don't end at White Pass ski area (19.3 miles east of Packwood - 23 min.), CLICK HERE to check SKI CONDITIONS. They have great family skiing and snowboard programs, terrain for all ages and all wrapped in a stunningly beautiful package. They offer lessons and rentals for classical and cross-country skiing, skating, or snowshoeing. READ (2 linked articles for the proposed and completed expansion plan for White Pass). Both Skate Creek Snow-Park and Johnson Snow-Park, offer cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and miles and miles of trails for the snowmobile zealot. Autumn offers harvest colors, Alpine flowers at Paradise, bugling male elk, the annual SCCA's Solo Autocross events at the Hampton Mill (Tour & Pro Solo, in August) the Cascade Bicycle Club's - High Pass Challenge in September (which begins and ends in Packwood), and some of the Cascade Mountain's best weather. Spring releases the trees from winter's grasp, unfolding a different variety of lower elevation wildflowers and babies of all shapes and sizes. Summer offers hiking to suit every skill level, white-water rafting at the Tieton River, horse-back riding, birding, boating, swimming, wind surfing, and shopping, just be sure to wear the appropriate foot gear, even if it means none at all. When you run out of all the above activities, there is always Packwood's western charm and hospitality as well as their semi-annual Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend community-wide flea markets.
Our vacation rental homes will serve as your home base for the above activities as well as your visits to: Mt. Rainier National Park (southeastern entrance 7 miles from our houses), Mt. Saint Helens National Monument (48 miles southwest of Packwood), and a little longer trek to Mt. Adams and their Huckleberry fields. Mt. Rainier teases with scenic vistas and dares to separate the adrenalin junkie from their fear, all while they hone their skills with extreme sports on its peaks and slopes. It also tempts the not-so-extreme with a more refined sense of activity with easy hikes to Grove of the Patriarchs, and Silver Falls.
To minimize the impact on the environment, we painted all 4 house exteriors with recycled Metro Paint and use compact fluorescent bulbs. Rainier View Lodge has a low-flow toilet, energy efficient appliances, a hot water on demand system (heats only what you use), and all the houses use refillable toiletries, and 2 of the 4 hot tubs are highly efficient energy management systems and run on 110 vs 220 volts.
Binoculars are a must if you want to spot the elusive Mountain Goats for which the Goat Rocks area is named. Birders, bring those same binoculars to Swofford Pond which hosts an excess of nesting and breeding birds, water fowl, and raptors of every kind, or travel to the Oak Creek Feeding Station toward Naches during the winter where they feed the Elk and Bighorn Sheep just 53 miles from our White Pass byway rental properties.
Don't forget your cameras! These Mt. Rainier vacation rentals provide even the most amateur photographer opportunities to capture Mount Adams (at mile marker 114) and Lakes Mayfield and Riffe at spectacular viewpoints. Hwy 12 is seldom traveled without seeing an array of wild life: elk, deer, coyotes, raccoon, bald eagles, or porcupine (one of our trips included a doe with twin fawns still sporting their spots). For those with more domesticated taste, the countryside is also filled with cattle, horses, sheep, and llamas.
All along the White Pass Scenic Byway, you can enjoy the stark contrast in life-zone changes, ranging from plateau's, low lands, and river valleys, to sub-alpine forest and even the drier and more open steppes on the eastern side of White Pass.
Don't forget your lap top! Rainier View Lodge, Bugling Elk Bungalow, Hall Creek Cabin and Mountainside Chalet come complete with WIFI. If you didn't research activities before you arrive, you can do so using the Recreation page of our website, or if you don't find what you need there, we have included additional information in the Welcome books inside each of the houses, including the closest local golf courses, information about local hiking, etc. If you still aren't finding what you want, there is always the Destination Packwood office.
And to preview some of these wonders, visit our Photo Gallery.