Tolmie Peak Lookout - Eunice Lake — Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016

Mount Rainier Area > NW - Carbon River/Mowich

This is one of the best hikes I've done so far in the PNW. The trail is so well maintained and it's incredibly hard to beat the view at the top. We arrived at 7 a.m. on a Saturday, and were we glad we got there early. There were only a few cars at the trail head when we arrived and when we left there were cars as far as the eye could see. This is a popular trail, so if you want to avoid the crowds, go early. This is also a great trail if you want an incredible view, but you don't want to have to work that hard to get there. At 7.5 miles long and only 1100 feet of elevation gain, this is a relatively easy hike. I recommend packing a lunch to eat at the top! You'll want to stay up there to admire the view for a while. Also, keep in mind that weather and visibility changes very quickly around Rainier. We were fortunate enough to be there when it was peak visibility, but by the time we hiked down you couldn't see Rainier at all from Tolmie Peak.