Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Nisqually Vista Loop
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Mount Rainier National Park Trails,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. To ensure you find the proper trail, when you leave the visitor center stay left at any trail junction you come to (unless that trail obviously drops straight back to the parking lot). The Nisqually Vista Trail leads west away from the visitor center, climbing a gentle slope through flower fields for 0.3 mile. The trail splits here. Go left to do the loop section in a clockwise direction. The trail angles out along a ridge crest before turning north to reach the rim of the tall wall above the Nisqually Glacier. Or it used to be above the glacier. The retreating ice field now resides farther up the valley--directly below your vantage point are vast mounds of moraine and the milky waters of the Nisqually River. The trail follows the rim of this steep slope for a short distance before curving back to the east, passing a small tarn (Fairy Pool) before rejoining the initial trail to close the 0.8-mile loop. Follow the trail 0.3 mile back to the visitor center.
Driving Directions:
From Tacoma, drive east on State Route 7 to Elbe, then veer left onto SR 706 to enter the park at the Nisqually Entrance near Ashford. Continue east along the Nisqually Road to the Paradise visitor center. Park in the lot be-hind the visitor center and find the trail at the northern edge of the parking lot. Recent Trip Reports
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Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Snow on trail
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What an incredible day! Lots of photos of what awaits you if you are lucky enough to hit Paradise on...
What an incredible day! Lots of photos of what awaits you if you are lucky enough to hit Paradise on a day of shifting clouds and sunshine at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/. We saw the mountain from the porch at Longmire Inn after a rainy Monday and hit the road as fast as we could. There were 4 cars (including us) in the Paradise lot at 10 a.m. (Tues.)! We threw on our snowshoes and headed straight up the mountain just to the right of the sledding area (we'll be back for a run or 2!). There were about 3” of fresh snow over compact pack – perfect conditions! The mountain appeared at first as a strange pyramid of smudgy cloud. The mist overhead, though, showed blue just behind it, promising true blue soon. Sure enough, as we headed up, up, the clouds blew away and revealed the mountain and sky in all their glory. We did not forget to turn around frequently and look at the Tatoosh Range as it rolled in and out of the mist, with sometimes views of Adams and St. Helen's graced by fresh snow. The entire landscape was shamelessly spectacular. Each rolling ridge of sparkling snow called for fresh tracks, and we willingly obliged. After trekking, leaping, falling on our butts (ok, maybe that was just me, and only once), and stripping to short sleeves in the sunshine, we headed down the mountainside, keeping just to the left of the ridge that leads down to the Nisqually Vista Loop, which we intersected neatly. Grabbed some photos of Nisqually Glacier and the river then heard my BBQ Corn Nuts calling to me, so back to the car we headed around 1 p.m. Then grabbed the sled and hit the sledding area for several awesome runs. Who knew I could still do a perfect (if inadvertent) backward somersault?
The Nisqually Vista Loop is extremely well-marked by orange & black poles so you would have to work pretty hard to lose your way even on a day like today when ours were the first tracks. Just tooling around up & down the mountainside from Paradise is unbeatable for exhilaration and views. What are you waiting for? Get up there!!! Day hike
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We couldn't believe how clear the roads were in January to Paradise! So decided to do a little snowshoeing...
We couldn't believe how clear the roads were in January to Paradise! So decided to do a little snowshoeing in the area. We arrived at Paradise at 9am and had the mountain to ourselves for quite a while, snowshoeing with no particular destination. It was overcast so we didn't expect to see much of Mt Rainier. After lunch there were glimpses of blue skies so we headed towards Nisqually look out and had a fabulous view of Mt Rainer with a lenticular cloud hanging above. Gorgeous day for snowshoeing! And to cap it off, at the end of the day we saw a beautiful cascade fox.
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If you are new to snowshoeing then you must do the guided Rainier snowshoe walk. I took 5 of my...
If you are new to snowshoeing then you must do the guided Rainier snowshoe walk. I took 5 of my good girl friends and we loved it! I am hooked and can't wait to do some more. the Ranger was fun to listen to and I even learned some things about the northwest. Well worth the time.
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Rainer Snowshoe-back to where it all began...
So I'm not sure everyone knows my little hiking journey. So here it goes.....
Rainer Snowshoe-back to where it all began...
So I'm not sure everyone knows my little hiking journey. So here it goes.. back in 2005 I lost a significant amount of weight, 50 lbs or so. I wanted something different than the same old exercise and treadmill. So I read about these ranger guided snow shoe events at Rainer where you rent the snowshoes for a buck. I was very intrigued and talked my friend into going with me to check it out. From that day forward began my love for hiking, snowshoeing, and Rainer. I remember running up this little hill and being so ALIVE and FREE! It was a feeling I had never experienced before, it was truly amazing! My lungs were burning from the cold and I loved every second of it. So in memory of the beginning of how it all started, I did that little loop today (Nisqually Vista Loop) It brought back the memories of the ranger telling the group about lichen and how it protects the trees, the weather station where they measure the snowfall was there. The trail is perfect for beginners, well marked and easy. And that hill I ran up years ago, it was way bigger in my head, that it actually was today. But then again, it's the beginning of the season. Then I crossed back to the parking lot and went up toward the skyline trail. Views got better with each hour.. I was in HEAVEN! There were a few people sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. It was a perfect weather day, no wind, blue sky, perfect powdery snow. I took my time and soaked it all in. Basically the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve, if you ask me! Hike #105 not that I'm really counting anymore. Here's the eye candy. Hope you enjoy. Snowshoe/XC Ski
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Snow on trail | Avalanche danger
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After getting some really good sledding in at Paradise, my family and I went out with one of the Park...
After getting some really good sledding in at Paradise, my family and I went out with one of the Park Rangfers and about 20 other folks on a snowshoe walk along the Nisqually Vista Trail. There was a ton of fresh powder, and animal tracks really stood out. We were out for about 90 minutes, and while we did not go all the way to the Vista itself, it was a fun and educational experience. We walked about a mile and a half in all.
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Snow lingers well into summer on the Nisqually Vista Loop. Photo by Jon Stier.
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