A Weekend Trip to Packwood, WA

Are you planning a weekend trip near Mount Rainer National Park? Here’s our weekend recap of our trip to Packwood, WA.

My friend Maddy and I decided to plan a weekend trip outside Mount Rainier National Park in December. We wanted to snow, a cute cabin, and maybe a chance to make some s’mores. We didn’t end up with any snow at the cabin, but we did have a fun, productive trip at Packwood. We drove over Friday after work and left Sunday mid-morning.

Where is Packwood?

Packwood is a 2 1/2 – 3-hour drive outside of Seattle. This small town is located between Mount Rainier National Park and St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Fun fact: Packwood was named after William Packwood – a Virginian pioneer who explored Washington and Oregon. If you love to ski or do snow activities, Packwood is also located near the White Pass Ski area.

Here are a few places to eat + see during your weekend trip to Packwood:

Places to eat in Packwood:

Mountain Goat Coffee

For coffee & a quick bite to eat, I recommend stopping by Mountain Goat Coffee. I grabbed a mocha and a breakfast scone on our way out of Packwood and it was delicious!

White Pass Taqueria & Taproom

We stopped by White Pass Taqueria for breakfast to-go on Saturday morning. Their breakfast tacos were delicious and filling. If I make a trip back to Packwood, I’d love to go back to this place and check out their dinner menu.

Cruisers Pizza

If you’re looking for takeout pizza, I recommend checking out Cruisers Pizza in Packwood. I got a small pizza and it was more than enough!

Things to See Outside of Packwood:

Longmire/Mount Rainier National Park

If you’re wanting to hike, play in the snow, or explore Mount Rainier National Park, Packwood is a 1 ½ hour drive to Longmire. I highly recommend checking the weather and road conditions before you make the trip. Some park roads are open, but we found out the roads to Paradise were closed when we got there.

Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church

On our way back to Seattle, we stopped by Elbe. This historic church was built in 1906 and has rich German roots. We stopped to take a few photos in front of the church.

Alder Lake Park

This park is available for camping, boating, and swimming. I wanted to stop by this lake to see all of the old tree stumps on its beaches.

Even though our weekend trip was short, we had fun taking photos and creating content all weekend. We even took Saturday night to plan out our 2021 Content Creatives Podcast Goals & our personal goals for our blogs/Instagrams.

I’d love to go back to Mount Rainier National Park this spring/summer to hike!

What other recommendations do you have for weekend trip to Packwood or Mount Rainier National Park?

For more weekend trip ideas, you can also check out:

Girls Weekend at the W Hotel in Seattle

Weekend Stay at the Murano Hotel in Tacoma

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Emma