[Foist]

Check out the Mt. Tahoma Trail Association. They groom some trails from 2 snow parks on the opposite side of the highway near Ashford. The grooming and snow quality are both extremely unreliable so you would be smart to bring that non-groomed setup.

[rossb]

The Paradise area has plenty of fairly mellow areas to explore. Many of the routes get into tough terrain (which you could also explore, if you don't mind risking a fall) but that isn't required. This is a great map: http://visitrainier.com/media/pdfs/Mt-Rainier_WinterRecreationMap.pdf. The road itself itself is nice, but you have to be careful -- there is a high avalanche danger (as shown). Barn Flats is nice and easy, and not done that much. You can poke around there, and/or explore the meadows north of the parking lot. You can head up towards Glacier Vista or Panorama Point, but depending on snow conditions/confidence, decide to just dink around in the meadows to the west. Just keep an eye on the weather and your bearings -- lots and lots of people have gone down the wrong gully on the way back to the car (it all kinda looks the same). I've done just about all of that map and I would say it does an excellent job of representing the situation (e. g. Fourth Crossing and Panorama Point are both pretty steep). I wouldn't obsess about a destination, really. It is a great place to play around, and play it be ear. My first cross country ski trip was at Paradise. I signed up for a Mountaineers trip, and we skied the road (we were all beginners). At the end, the leader had us explore the meadows. I was hooked.

[Cyclopath]

Thanks so much for the suggestions, both of you. It sounds like everything is near Paradise. That's such a long drive! It's probably not very scenic or fun to ski up 410 from the closure?

[Foist]

The MTTA trails are way closer than paradise, even with the dirt road.

[Randito]

The MTTA trails are nice, but not beginner friendly.

[rossb]

Yeah, Paradise is long drive in. I assumed you were heading down there (maybe spending a night at Ashford or something like that). I've never skied Mowich Lake in mid-winter, but it looks like it might be quite rewarding on a nice day. I don't know if they allow snowmobiles for the first section, or what the avalanche danger is. The book assumes you want to start closer (so you have a better shot at getting to the lake).