The road up to Longmire was in good condition. I thought I'd try for Longmire to Paradise today. I have no idea where you go after Narada Falls to get to Paradise and none of the trails are marked yet. So warming station above Narada Falls was the turn around spot. 

The trail to Carter Falls: There are seven trees down within the first mile of leaving Longmire. They are high enough you have to throw a leg over. You might even have to sit and swivel over. There are patches of icy snow that were all passable without gear. Prepare for melting snow, in other words, mud. The rocky section to the bridge over the Nisqually was icy and snowy enough I put on my spikes. Falling on those rocks would not be fun. I took my spikes off once on the woodsy trail on the other side of the bridge and rocks. A mile before Carter Falls the trail was really icy, so I put the spikes back on and was super glad for it.

Trail to Narada Falls: There is a narrow trail cut into the snow all the way to the three tricky bridges (tricky once snow and ice are in the picture). The bridges were all passable. A few minutes past the last bridge I started postholing and the tracks thinned out along with the nicely cut path. I had to don my snowshoes. I still sank sometimes a foot in the snow. Cutting a path on tricky terrain in really soft snow kicked my butt. There looked to be a snowshoer who was kind enough to cut through probably yesterday since I didn't pass another soul beyond Carter Falls. There are big step ups and step downs and large steps across on possibly unstable snow you have to contend with. Looking down the path to Reflection Lakes it looked like snowshoers have cut a path. It looked kind of choppy and tiring.

Lower viewpoint of Narada Falls to the warming station: This path is very well-formed with a thin layer of snow on top of ice. Gear is strongly recommended. From the lower viewpoint to the warming station, my snowshoes crunched the whole time. Between the Reflections Lakes sign and the lower viewpoint there were postholes two feet deep. 

It was 10.2 miles and 1800 feet elevation. Sounds super doable and yet I am wiped. Happy trekking!

The mountain was out this morning on the webcams and even though I knew the gate to Paradise would be closed and the snow would come, I could not resist. I got to Longmire around 9:30ish. There were a number of people setting out to either Rampart Ridge or Carter Falls plus. I packed all the stuff, spikes, extra gloves, hand warmers, snowshoes... I usually mess up a snow hike just a little. This time I packed ice cold water. It only got colder especially with an inch of snow on its lid. On the way up, there wasn't snow until Carter Falls. On the way down, there was snow all the way back to Longmire with a lot of the footprints already snowcovered. Narada Falls is always neato; in the winter it's another level of cool. Just know the trip from the falls to the parking lot is icy and slick. Plan for it to be that way for the rest of winter. Traction and poles will get you up and down much more safely. There is a wonderful warming station when you make your way up past the falls with bathrooms. What a luxury. I didn't go all the way up to Paradise this time around, but it's on my list. Maybe I'll get to do it this winter season. The hike to the right of the warming station didn't look to have poles up yet. It always gets snowier after Madcap Falls (a few minutes past Carter Falls and so worth it). Be prepared for a lot more snow than in my pics after the next couple days.

If you're planning to go up there, check in with the rangers. Bring gloves, hat, layers, and leave the cotton sweatshirts and jeans at home. Why suffer when you can be cozy? 

We hiked the loop counterclockwise, starting at the trailhead across the road from Paradise Inn.  There were muddy spots on trail until the Narada trail junction.  Bog gentian still in prime bloom, plus faded asters and daisies.  

We decided to detour and hike to/from Narada Falls. Be aware that after the trail crosses Stevens Canyon Road it picks back up to the left of the bridge (we found out the long/wrong way lol). The trail is lush, and one can hear Paradise River rushing by most of the way.  Fungi of all sizes and colors abound.  We encountered 2 people with a large bucket and bulging bag sitting by the trail and smoking cigarettes! I could hear at least  2 more people off trail above us calling out to each other.  Narada Falls was swarming with people and a puny version of its springtime self. 

High Lakes trail is ablush with fall color.  Ripe berries right along the trail especially in the more shaded areas.  We turned right to have lunch at Faraway Rock before continuing the hike.  Great visibility from Faraway Rock.  Louise Lake was sparkling like a jewel far below.

We watched a doe and her 2 fawns munch their way right along the trail then into a meadow beyond.  I saw a pika scurry along a log by the trail- I could have blinked and missed it! Not a single marmot to be seen. Several ground squirrels at Faraway Rock.

  Trail is in good condition throughout. There are still a few traces of summer color in magenta and indian paintbrush and bog gentian. The last 2+ miles of the trail is mostly out in the open and ascending so be prepared to sweat… But the mountain is like a beacon in the distance encouraging you to keep going.  :)

We met less than 20 hikers on the Lakes Trail. After the solitude and serenity of the Lakes Trail getting on Skyline to finish the loop was like merging onto a freeway at rush hour haha.

Myrtle Falls was chaotic.  People had climbed down from the bridge and were clambering on the rocks at Edith Creek. We noticed dogs, vaping, litter … So sad. Perhaps better signage would deter people from doing this? 

Despite the downsides to hiking in this direction I still prefer it for its many views of Mt Rainier on the return loop.  

What an awesome place we live in! Altogether we logged 7.6 miles. 

Happy hiking! Happy fall!

Oh my goodness - so much to talk about Mt Rainier this year!

First off - the timed entry system worked well. Granted we had the afternoon shift of 1-3PM, but there was only 1 other car in front of us and we were through in a matter of minutes.

Being that we were on the afternoon shift, we didn't want to do a long or challenging hike, so we hitup Madcap, Carter, and Narada Falls.

#alwaysreviewthetoilets 🧻 - there are none at the trailhead! Your best bet is to stop at Longmire. And the trail is busy enough that using a la-tree-ine is probs going to be difficult.

Ok - now for the trip report. Parking for the trailhead is via a turnoff on the side of the road. It's fairly large and there is one in each direction. We had no issues parking around 2 PM on a gorgeous Thursday afternoon. It seems most people who are parked aren't hiking but snapping photos, so turnover is pretty high.

You'll be hiking on the Wonderland trail. And it's super well maintained and easy going between the TH and Narada Falls. Right off the bat you get to cross over the Nisqually River - which was raging - on what looks like a rickety bridge. It's really no problem, but when I cross a bridge and look down at fast moving water - I get a little dizzy 😵‍💫.

The tl;dr; for the report - trail is in great shape. Well maintained, easy stepping, and super surprising, not a lot of people! It's Rainier, there were some, but there were plenty of times were we'd go at least 20 minutes without seeing somebody.

Ok - so a little more description ... after you get past the bridge, the rest of the trail is easy going. You'll gain roughly 1300' if you go all the way to Narada Falls - but the trail is incredibly well maintained and wide. There are some stones and some roots here are there, but compared to some other trails, this is a dream.

The Paradise River keeps you company most of the way. You'll cross over it on a solid bridge. There are steps down to the river at that bridge if you wanted to fill up on water.

You'll first hit Carter Falls, then quickly after Madcap Falls. IMO, it's worth continuing on to Narada Falls. Carter & Madcap are nice ... Narada is better. And the trail is just so nice. My watch showed ~5.8 miles roundtrip & 1300' elevation gain for the roundtrip.

You'll know when you're near Narada Falls cuz, well, you'll hear it, but you'll also start to see more people. (There's another short trail that goes there.)

Turning around, same deal, except in reverse 😉. The most people you'll run into will be at the Nisqually River snapping photos. I could not have asked for more with this hike!

The path down to Narada Falls is snow free - but wet.   There was a rainbow at the bottom of the waterfall.

We continued downhill from Narada Falls to Paradise River.    It was a nice shady hike in the woods on a hot sunny day.

As we left Paradise at 1:30 pm on Monday, the line waiting to get into the park stretched all the way to Alexander's Lodge.    Wow!