Hiked the Glacier Basin trail today with my friend looking for wildflower and taking in the beauty of the Emmons Glacier. This trail is in great condition with very few tree roots or rocky parts. Quite a few other hikers on the trail today but well spread out and friendly. We got to the White River Campground parking lot about 9:30, quite a bit of parking was still available. Being such a warm day today it was nice that 2/3 of this trail is shaded. The wildflowers were blooming all over which was perfect and so pretty. There were small patches of snow but nothing on the trail. The glacier, the river and all the small waterfalls along the trail were beautiful. A great trail not to hard but still giving you a good workout.

Great day for a hike at Mount Rainier! There were signs warning about construction on 410 as mentioned in other trip reports, but there was no evidence of any construction work or closures happening today besides some loose pebbles getting kicked up by cars, possibly because it was a Sunday. We got through the Sunrise entrance around 8:45am in less than 5 minutes. By the time we were leaving at 1:30pm there were a few dozen cars lined up and stopped at the entrance with no signs of movement, so definitely a good idea to arrive early! We were at the trailhead by 9am and parked along the road in the camping area by the trailhead.

This was our first time doing Glacier Basin and it didn't disappoint! It doesn't have the in-your-face views of Mount Rainier that you'll get on hikes like Panorama Point and Fremont Lookout but it has fewer crowds and a steady diet of views between the trees for the first couple miles. The trail is quite wide and smooth for most of the hike and not very steep until the end. Near the top the trail gets steeper but is still quite nice, with some small pockets of wildflowers and fewer trees to block your view. We went ~0.5 mile past the end of the "end of maintained trail" sign and got some nice views of the valley facing away from the mountain, though the view of Rainier was mostly blocked by a ridge in between. Continuing up further didn't seem like it would change things much, so we decided to eat lunch and turn around.

We added the Emmons Moraine trail to our trip and it was well worth it! It only adds a mile and includes expansive views of Rainier, the valley below, and a milky blue lake (see attached picture). We went a little bit past the sign indicating the end of the maintained trail for Emmons Moraine but the best views were before it so that's a good spot to turn around.

Our hike clocked in at 8.67 miles and 2200ft elevation gain. Glacier Basin by itself is just shy of 7 miles and Emmons Moraine is 3 miles.

Perfect day on this hike. Small patches of snow which were no problem w no gear but hiking boots. They’ll probably be gone in another week. Highly recommend the Edmond Morraine side hike. The turquoise lake photo is from that trip. It took us about 4 hours and 20 minutes to do both- this includes the fact that we took about a half hour for lunch and the fact that our 3 year old walked for about 2 miles.

Our trick on a Saturday is to leave in time to get to the gate before 9 and this usually works out okay. This particular Saturday, we were slowed by highway construction on the 410, didn’t get to the gate until 915, and this resulted in us waiting until 11 to get through the gate and we weren’t boots on trail until 1140. The trail was so gorgeous that the wait was worth it. But if you’re not going to get to the White River Gate until after 10 on a weekend, you’re probably not getting in.

We were able to hit the trail fairly early, as we'd been camping up at Sunrise (a beautiful place to wake up in). Got to the Glacier Basin TH about 9:15. Lots o' folks at the White River camping area! (Park in the Picnic and Climbers parking area, which is well-signed, then head to the end of the road to reach the TH).

The trail is about 2/3 in the shade, which was nice on this fairly warm day. There are a couple of minor snow patches within about a mile of Glacier Basin camp. We found poles helpful, but not necessary. Snow should be gone very shortly! It's a steady ascent, but the trail is well-graded and there are lovely sites along the way--wildflowers, streams, little waterfalls, views of Tahoma/Rainier.

My main goal, I have to admit, was to catch a glimpse of a marmot or two. Last year while we were camping there, there was quite the marmot population--and they were huge critters! (Needles to say, I achieved my mission today and spied a nice, fat fellow nuzzling for roots in the underbrush). But the hike is also nice for its wildflowers at the moment, and of  course, the striking landscape in the Basin. We passed a bunch of climbers coming down this morning. Campsite report: all but one is clear of snow. However, the mosquitoes are out en force. Be prepared.

Wildflowers we saw included the following: lavender penstemon, harsh paintbrush, glacier lilies, phlox, spring beauty, coral root, thimbleberry, goldenrod, baldhip rose, tall bluebells, Sitka columbine (on their last legs), purple monkeyflower, cow parsnip and more. Happy hiking, Everyone!

Arrived at White River Campground at 9am.  Construction on 410: chip sealing 7 mile stretch today and on 19th: 5 minutes stopped for one way traffic both days. Short line(5 cars) at about 8:30am to show/buy a pass.

Few spots left in day use lot, cars parked on the road.

I saw all ages on this trail. So well groomed, most of the early part is flat without rocks and roots.  One mile to the Emmons Moraine Trail with Purple Penstamon lining the trail.  Just after the Emmons Trail the variety of flowers explodes and there is a nice photo op of a small rushing mountain stream with Rainier in the back round and a place to sit. Very shaded hike for being on Rainier.  Openings to take good photos. Somewhere was a stream that walking on rocks was needed about 8 steps, pretty easy to do without getting your feet wet.

There were only 3 patches of snow that I had to take 10 steps in, to get to Galcier Basin Camp.  Lots of snow melting creates patches of mud that aren't that bad.

Bugs on the trail but none were biting until GB Camp.

I went up to 6,500' to the Inter Glacier which was not hard, but some of the trail was a stream.

Very sunny all day.