This was my first November snowshoe at Paradise, and it was the perfect kickoff to snow season!

The road
Chains are required to go up from Longmire to Paradise! If you don’t own any, they’re available for rent at a number of businesses in Ashford. It was just drizzling, and the road was in excellent condition, so we did not come even close to needing chains.

The trail
The trail is clearly marked throughout and well-trodden. The snow right now is pretty wet, so if you intend to play in the snow at all, I recommend bringing out any and all waterproof gear. We had a great time romping around in our snowshoes and being goofs in the snow. We got some fresh, beautiful snow during our hike, which was magical.

Visibility
We saw parts of the mountain on our drive in but it was not visible throughout our hike. However, we stopped for a lunch break with a view of the Tatoosh range against the gray, snowy sky.

Parking lot
Heads up: The lot closes at 4:30 so that everyone is out of Paradise in time for the Longmire gate to close at 5:00. The bathrooms at the Paradise visitor center and off of the parking lot are open.

How lucky are we to live near this snowy marvel?

WOW. After our plans had been thwarted by weather the day before, we returned to the park before 7 a.m. for what was foretold to be a clear morning - and we were not disappointed. When we arrived at Paradise, the sky was bright and the mountain was visible for only a few seconds through the fog. But after hiking for about 3/4 of a mile, we got our first glimpse of the full mountain through the fog. As we continued, the mountain became more and more visible until we passed completely through the cloud line. The view of Tahoma in the sunshine was unreal. Standing at Glacier Vista was unreal. Surrounded by sunshine and sparkling snow, we had the clearest view of the mountian's glaciers and peaks ahead of us and Mounts Adams, Saint Helens, and Hood peeking up above the cloud line behind us.

The trail had been well-travelled the past few days, so despite the previous day's precipitation, the trail was very clear. Just make sure to follow the orange sticks in the snow and do not go past the X's.

My mom and I wore Yaktrax and carried a pole each, which was plenty to keep from slipping. I highly recommend some traction for folks who, like me, are new to hiking on snow like this. However, my partner went without traction and was a-ok. The trail was well-packed but you can expect to posthole when you step off the well-trodden path.

Started around 7:10 a.m. and returned by about 9:30. This was with many stops to enjoy this unforgettable view! We encountered 20-30 other small hiking groups/pairs earlier on in our hike but still had 10-15 minutes to ourselves at the vista, though larger crowds had started to form by the time we got back down to the visitor center.

I took full advantage of the recent snows and then clear weather and snow shoed up to Glacier Vista. It was a Friday, the first day the road was open so there were quite a few people. The snow was deep enough that snow shoes were required, people were post holing using micro spikes or just boots. The views were outstanding today. As the day wore on, the snow got slushier as temperatures were in the 50s. The road up was mostly dry.

Great bluebird day up on the mountain! Went all the way out to the saddle and backtracked to the vista point . Was fab! Definitely getting a little warm with all the reflection off the snow.

The road to Paradise was clear and we didn't need to use snow chains (although it's still legally necessary to bring them with you while driving this road anytime between Nov. 1 and May 1). This is a great short snowshoe hike with rewarding views going both ways -- Rainier in your face the whole way up, and Adams/Hood/St. Helens on the way down. Absolutely spectacular on this clear day! Plenty of other people on the mountain on this sunny Saturday, but enough room for everyone. There's about 4-5 feet of snow on the ground, and on this sunny day there was a thin crust on top in some places and soft, slushy snow in others.

The Paradise Visitor Center is open, and a great place to check the weather and avalanche forecast one last time before heading up the mountain. We saw a lot of skiers having fun on the slopes, but we also saw two of them being carried down to Paradise on rescue sleds, so choose your route and your footing carefully out there.