Route 161 in Washington State

There are two ways up to Mt Rainier, Paradise on the southwest side and Sunrise on the north side. Paradise you can get to by Exiting I5 at Hwy 12 and then drive to Morton and turn left on 7. At the T turn right to Paradise. (That is my favorite side but Sunrise is also nice) There are a lot of nice campgrounds around Morton mostly owned by the power company.

Thanks for all of the helpful information. Will look into the suggested routes and things to see.

Another way to get to Mt. Rainier NP is from US 12 via 123, east of Packwood. With your small RV you can get into White River Campground which is right at the foot of the glacier. I love it! Much closer to 12 is Ohanepecosh campground which is also nice.

WA 161 is good rural road, WA 7 is another option (out of Paradise Park)and can connect to I5 South of Tacoma. Both of these routes can involve heavy traffic, as can anything in the Puget Sound region.

WA 161 is a good two lane road.
Info it passes by Wolf Haven, a wildlife park.