Make the ultimate Mt. Rainier adventure all your own with a private tour. Take an unforgettable 35-minute scenic flight over the wilderness between Seattle and Mt. Rainier, combined with a Mt. Rainier ground tour. Only available through Nature Nuts Adventure Travel, no other Mt. Rainier tour experience compares!
Private Ultimate Mt. Rainier: Helicopter & Hiking Tour from Seattle
Summary Description
Highlights
- 35-minute flight between Seattle & Mt. Rainier, flying by Snoqualmie Falls, the Cascade foothills, and Mt. Rainier’s surrounding wilderness.
- Stroll through stunning sub-alpine terrain above 6,000’, coming face-to-face with Mt. Rainier’s largest glaciers.
- Boutique excursion limited to private groups of up to 3 or 6 guests, depending on helicopter type selected.
- Take incredible bird’s-eye view photos of the wild landscape below you.
- A delicious picnic lunch surrounded by nature awaits you.
- Join the only tour company to offer this exclusive combo experience.
Description
This full-day tour is the best way to see the most of Mt. Rainier in a single day: combine an epic helicopter flight across this rugged landscape with a guided alpine hike. Take the most “scenic route” possible on a 35-minute flight between Seattle and Mt. Rainier. On the ground at Mt. Rainier, your naturalist guide will walk you through alpine terrain that you glimpsed from the air. Enjoy a delicious catered picnic lunch before returning to Seattle. Put this trip of a lifetime on your bucket list!
Scenic Helicopter Flight
Board a 3-passenger Robinson R44 or 6-passenger Airbus H130 for an unforgettable flight between Seattle and Mt. Rainier. Fly over downtown Seattle and through the Cascade foothills. You’ll make a close flyby of our most famous waterfall—Snoqualmie Falls—that plunges 268’ and throws up a huge cloud of mist.
Close to Mt. Rainier, you’ll soar over rugged wilderness carved by glacier-fed rivers from the mountain. While Mt. Rainier National Park gets about 2-million visitors per year, you’ll be among a just a handful of people to take in this stunning landscape from the air.
Guided Alpine Hiking Experience
On the ground with your naturalist guide, you’ll walk through sub-alpine meadows above 6,000’ where the dense fir tree forests give way to wide open sweeping vistas of snow-covered peaks, glaciers and wildflower meadows in summer. As you walk, you’ll learn how Mt. Rainier was formed by powerful forces that continue to shape the landscape. Walk by a tranquil turquoise lake or a frigid river, and get to know a few of Mt. Rainier’s largest glaciers.
The total length of the hike will depend on the group’s pace and energy level. At a leisurely pace, the hike typically takes up to 2 hours at most, with many stops intermixed, allowing for gorgeous panoramic photos. Our hiking route is designed to meet the needs of a general audience, and only a basic level of physical fitness is required. If you have any questions or concerns about the hike or would like a ground tour without hiking, please get in touch with us.
Delicious Wilderness Picnic
Your tour experience wouldn’t be complete without a delicious picnic lunch served by your guide. Your guide will choose a spot in the forest or up in the sub-alpine terrain with views for miles. Lunch is always accompanied by a selection of hot and cold beverages.
Private Ground Transport
Morning tour guests will be transported to Mt. Rainier in the morning via private ground transport and return to Seattle via helicopter. Guests on our afternoon tour will arrive at Mt. Rainier via helicopter and return to Seattle via private ground transport.
Included / Excluded
- Choose a morning or afternoon departure from Seattle
- 35-minute one-way helicopter flight between Seattle & Mt. Rainier
- Delicious Gourmet Lunch with hot & cold beverages
- 2-hour one-way ground transfer between Seattle & Mt. Rainier
- Mt. Rainier National Park guided hiking experience
- Bottled water
- Use of adjustable trekking poles and binoculars for wildlife spotting
- Gratuity is not required but customary for good service (typically 10-15% of your tour package)
Start / End Locations
Start Location: 808 Howell St., Seattle, US
Start Location Directions: Morning Tour Logistics: Morning tour guests will be picked up from their downtown Seattle hotel. Our pick up times in downtown Seattle typically start at about 7:30am, but may be as late as 7:50am. Your exact pick up time depends both on the day of the week and on how many other guests are joining the day's tour. Once Nature Nuts receives your reservation, we will contact you via phone or e-mail to confirm your pick-up location and time. For any morning tour guests not staying in downtown Seattle or at any of the Sea-Tac airport hotels, your pick up location will be the Hyatt Regency Seattle (808 Howell St, Seattle, WA 98101). Morning tour guests will return to Seattle via helicopter flight from Mt. Rainier at approximately 2:00pm with a planned landing at Boeing Field at approximately 2:40pm. Boeing Field is about 15-minutes south of downtown Seattle. Please note that transportation from Boeing Field back to downtown Seattle is not included with your tour. Most of our guests on this tour use Uber or Lyft to return to downtown Seattle. If you would like us to request a taxi for you to take you back to downtown Seattle once you land at Boeing Field, please notify us in advance. Afternoon Tour Logistics: Afternoon tour guests should plan to transport themselves to Boeing Field to meet their pilot at 6987 Perimeter Rd. S, Seattle, WA 98108. Please note that transportation to Boeing Field is not provided with your tour. Most guests choose to take an Uber or Lyft ride from downtown Seattle, about 15-minutes away. If you have your own vehicle that you would like to drive to the meeting location, you may park in the visitor parking lot during your tour. Please plan to arrive at Boeing Field by no later than 1:15pm for your scheduled take-off at 1:30pm. When you arrive at the address above, please go inside the building and take the stairs to the 2nd floor. On the 2nd floor, turn right and go into the office for Atomic Helicopters. In the office, you will meet your pilot and fill in some paperwork. If you have any trouble finding the office, you may call them directly at 206-762-3245. There is also a restroom in the hallway next to the office. We recommend making use of it before your tour commences. At the conclusion of the afternoon ground tour at about 6:00pm afternoon tour guests will return to Seattle. Afternoon tour guests typically arrive back in Seattle by about 8:00pm, although it is sometimes later than that depending on traffic. We can drop off your private group at any location of its choosing in the Seattle area. Please be sure to let us know where your group would like to be dropped off at the conclusion of the tour.
Important Information
Know Before You Go
- After completing a booking, please contact the tour operator to confirm your tour's starting location.
- Please notify us a minimum of 72 hours in advance if you have particular dietary requirements (allergies, vegan, vegetarian etc.)
- Guests not staying near downtown Seattle should plan to meet the group at the Hyatt Regency (808 Howell St).
- Not suitable for children ages 10 and under
- This tour is subject to good weather conditions and may be cancelled or rescheduled up to and including the day of travel.
- This tour includes a modest amount of hiking on marked trails at elevations over 6,000'. We will walk on uneven surfaces as well as up and down hill. The total number of miles hiked each day varies, but is typically not more than 3 miles of cumulative walking.
- This tour's route is not wheelchair accessible.
- All guests must complete a waiver and acknowledgement of risk form before the start of the tour
Cancellation
Cancellation Cutoff: 3 days
Cancellation Notes: Reservations require full payment at the time of booking to secure your tour date and our availability. 15% of your package is non-refundable after payment is received. 7+ days prior to your tour date, you may make changes to your date, without penalty, subject to availability. 7+ days prior to your tour date, you may cancel your tour and receive an 85% refund of the amount paid. Less than 7 days prior to your tour date, the full cost of your tour is non-refundable.
Terms and Conditions
Your submission of tour payment or a deposit constitutes your acceptance of Nature Nuts Travel's Terms and Conditions (https://www.naturenutstravel.com/terms-and-conditions) as well as our Cancellation & Refund policy. It is your responsibility to read and understand these conditions that you are agreeing to. Please keep them for your records.
Nature Nuts Travel reserves the right to cancel the tour or make modifications to the tour itinerary due to road closures, hazardous driving conditions or other factors beyond its control that could make completing the tour hazardous or impossible. In the event that Nature Nuts Travel cancels the tour, private groups will be given the option to receive a full refund, reschedule the selected tour to another date, subject to availability, or select an alternative tour destination/route on the same day of travel, if one can be mutually agreed upon.
Nature Nuts Travel strongly recommends purchasing travel insurance to help protect your trip and help prevent financial loss. We cannot be responsible for losses resulting from trip cancellation. Please note that many travel insurance policies require you purchase insurance within a limited window of time after your itinerary is booked. Please read and adhere to any purchased travel insurance policies carefully to better protect yourself.
Additional Information
Clothing
Weather in the mountains changes very quickly and is variable throughout the year. If the sun is out and we are walking, it can quickly get warm and a t-shirt is comfortable. If the sun goes behind a cloud and a wind picks up, it can feel very chilly. Spring (May-June) and Fall (September-October) temperatures are often in the 40s-50s but can be as high as the 60s and 70s. Summer temperatures (July-August) are generally warm in the 70s-80s, but daily temperature fluctuation is common with early mornings in the 50s and late afternoons warming up to the mid 80s.
At a minimum, we recommend preparing 3 layers: a quick drying t-shirt, an insulating layer (wool sweater, hoodie, etc.), and a waterproof layer (wind breaker, soft shell jacket).
Shoes
While we won’t be doing any intense hikes, please wear shoes that are comfortable to walk over uneven ground on and provide ankle support. On wet days and rainy days, sneakers can quickly soak through. Rubber soled hiking boots or rain boots are a better option on those days.
Other Items for Your Comfort
Sunglasses, sun hat, sunblock, bug repellent (in summer) and a small bag to carry water or snacks is also a good idea. Guests on early and late season tours (May to June or September to October) are advised to bring an additional insulating layer. A generally good rule of thumb is to bring one more layer than you think is necessary.
About operator:
Nature Nuts Adventure Travel is a family-owned tour company in Seattle. As travelers, we found endless adventures in natural landscapes near the city. We operate small group tours and private tours to the best outdoor destinations within reach of Seattle. We promise an adventure of a lifetime in a single day.
Basic Information
- Duration: 7 hours
- Category: Outdoor Adventure
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