Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content written by local hiking experts and user submitted information. All data is vetted by WTA staff. This resource is made possible by the donations of WTA members.
We respectfully acknowledge the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today. Please tread gently and treat these places with respect.
Results List
24 HikesSilver Falls Loop
Mount Rainier Area > SE - Cayuse Pass/Stevens Canyon
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 600 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,300 feet
The Ohanapecosh River is arguably the most beautiful in Mount Rainier National Park, with water so clear you can see all the way to the bottom in many places. Where it's not crashing over rocks, of course. The Silver Falls Loop takes you upstream along this impressive river, to a majestic waterfall and back through humbling forest, all in just three miles.
Shriner Peak
Mount Rainier Area > SE - Cayuse Pass/Stevens Canyon
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Length
- 8.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,434 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,834 feet
Gorgeous weather and late-season color make this one of the most beautiful autumn hikes in Mount Rainier National Park. This hike is a tough climb, but the payoff is great views and lots of solitude.
Bench and Snow Lakes
Mount Rainier Area > SE - Cayuse Pass/Stevens Canyon
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Length
- 2.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 610 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,725 feet
Escape the crowds within Mount Rainier National Park without going on a lengthy adventure. Visit one or both of two alpine lakes, the second one just a bit more than a mile from the parking lot.
Carter Falls
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 2.8 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 660 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,650 feet
Cougar Rock to Carter Falls is a moderate and readily accessible segment of the Wonderland Trail that packs stunning mountain vistas, river views, waterfalls, wildflowers, old growth, and edible berries into just 1.3 miles of family-friendly hiking in Mount Rainier National Park.
Eastside Loop
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 36.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 7,430 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,800 feet
A multi-night backpacking trip around the eastern edge of Mount Rainier National Park.
Skyscraper Mountain
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,300 feet
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Highest Point
- 7,000 feet
The Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park offers many fantastic views of The Mountain. But don’t neglect the other views. Scramble up Skyscraper Mountain to enjoy a full 360 degree view of numerous lofty peaks, verdant treeless parks, and river valleys far below.
White River to Sunrise
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 5.8 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,400 feet
A short but steep climb on the Wonderland Trail from a campground in Mount Rainier National Park to the Sunrise Visitor Center area.
White River
Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410
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Length
- 5.9 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 600 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,960 feet
The White River Trail is a great year-round option to hike a gradual trail through the forest northeast of Mount Rainier National Park.
Spray Park Loop
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
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Length
- 16.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 5,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,375 feet
Mowich Lake Road is closed for the season
Considered one of the best loop hikes in Mount Rainier National Park, the trail through the alpine meadows of Spray and Seattle Parks blazes with a bounty of seasonal wildflowers. Throw in an ample serving of glassy tarns, a couple of wispy waterfalls, an optional side trip to Carbon Glacier and a forested stroll up Ipsut Creek, and you have a photographer’s dreamland.
Mowich Lake Snowshoe
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
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Length
- 10.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,400 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,000 feet
Mowich Lake Road is closed for the season
Mowich Lake is a moderate snowshoe tucked into the northwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park.
Mount Beljica
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,056 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,469 feet
Trailhead Inaccessible by vehicle: Forest Road 59 is washed out
Mount Beljica is just outside the boundary of Mount Rainier National Park, so you can bring your dog and still experience a well-kept trail leading to astounding views of Washington's tallest mountain.
Mother Mountain Loop
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
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Length
- 15.3 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 6,277 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,380 feet
Mowich Lake Road is closed for the season
A popular route in the northwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park -- try this one as a day hike, an overnight (be sure to get permits first) or as a trail run!
Alki Crest
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
Mowich Lake Road is closed for the season
A long, meandering hike in Mount Rainier National Park that tours Tolmie Creek, August and Virginia Peaks, and Martin Peak.
Yellowstone Cliffs and Windy Gap
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
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Length
- 24.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,800 feet
Mowich Lake Road is closed for the season
Yellowstone Cliffs and Windy Gap offer a chance to experience a side of Mount Rainier National Park like no other. Most trails in the park highlight views of the main mountain, but here, it’s more about the surrounding peaks, which make the area seem more like somewhere in Alaska or Montana, rather than Washington. Add to that the fact that accessing this area now requires an approach hike in the double digits, and you’ve got a remote, high mountain valley where relatively few people come, despite the fact that it’s in Washington’s most popular national park.
Backbone Ridge
South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley
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Length
- 6.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,750 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,900 feet
Trail inaccessible due to washout on trail
This is a nice woods trail, but views don't reward the hiker until she or he arrives at Stevens Canyon Road in Mount Rainier National Park. Trail starts alongside a grassy rock slab and works its way to the top of the ridge.
Mount Ruth
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
Mount Ruth is a peak in the northeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park. The route to this peak is an off-trail mountaineering route, not an official trail.
Rampart Ridge Snowshoe
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 4.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,050 feet
A moderately-challenging snowshoe route in Mount Rainier National Park with some avalanche danger in times of heavy snow. Check the avalanche reports before heading out.
Alta Vista Loop
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 1.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 560 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,960 feet
The Alta Vista Loop is one of the trails located at Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park. This trail system is known for fantastic displays of wildflowers in the summer and dramatic panoramic views of Mount Rainier and the surrounding foothills all year long.
Lake James
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
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Length
- 22.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,450 feet
The way to Lake James offers a myriad of experiences, from deep rainforest to the high country of Mount Rainier National Park. Undertake an ambitious dayhike, or be more leisurely about it and make it a backpacking trip.
Glacier Basin
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 6.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,600 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,900 feet
Floods in 2006 severely damaged the Glacier Basin trail, but after four years of work, WTA completed a new trail in Glacier Basin at Mount Rainier National Park in the summer of 2011. Since then, hikers of all stripes have had the pleasure of enjoying a brand-new route to one of the mountain's most iconic glaciers on an easy-to-hike trail.
Florence Peak
Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich
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Length
- 8.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,700 feet
A scramble up to a peak just off the Alki Crest Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. Climbing experience and equipment strongly recommended.
Copper Creek Hut Snowshoe
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 8.8 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,040 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,200 feet
Yes, there really is a hut on the Copper Creek Hut trail and it’s open to the public! The Mount Tahoma Trails Association, a non-profit organization, operates over fifty miles of cross country ski and snowshoe trails and a system of huts for day and overnight use near Ashford, just west of Mount Rainier National Park.
Mather Memorial Highway Snowshoe
Mount Rainier Area > Chinook Pass - Hwy 410
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Length
- 10.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,800 feet
The White River Snowshoe follows the Mather Memorial Highway (SR 410) through a snowy river valley in Mount Rainier National Park. What is a bustling highway in summer becomes a quiet snowshoe ramble in the winter.
Bertha May and Granite Lakes
South Cascades > White Pass/Cowlitz River Valley
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 900 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,400 feet
Visit several charming lakes just south of Mount Rainier National Park using a pleasant little trail. Granite Lake is a beautiful place for a dip, while Bertha May and Cora Lake offer good fishing.
