The loop trail has several snow patches along the north side, and some of them are now little snow caves over the trail, ready to collapse. Be very careful along this section. There is also a lot of meltwater along the north side, and some minor mud holes, but still no bugs!

Wildflowers are out everywhere. Avalanche lilies, magenta paintbrush, and lupine are predominant. I also encountered beargrass, red heather, rosy spirea, phlox, cinquefoil, and valerian. Blueberries are also prevalent, and are just beginning to fruit.

Trailhead:
You can start this loop at Tipsoo Lake or at the PCT trailhead a half mile east. If you park in the double parking lot just before Tipsoo Lake, it’s not obvious where the trailhead it. Walk uphill and to the right. Where the signboard and memorial plaque are, there are two trails. The one to the left will take you toward the lake, where a metal sign indicates the two directions of the Naches Peak Loop Trail.

You may wish to do the loop counterclockwise, in order to get the Rainier views earlier in earlier, more favorable light. But then the views are behind you. I went clockwise, from Tipsoo Lake. At 1.25 miles was a pretty little tarn off to the left. At 1.4 miles was a small waterfall splashing out droplets into the air as a heavy mist. At the time I was there (10:20 a.m.), most of the misty spray was sparkling in the sun, but a couple of small rock outcropping were blocking the sun’s rays, creating bands of darkness across the glistening spray. Very pretty.

At 1.8 miles, there is a small network of trails where Dewey Lake comes into view. None of these are the trail down to the lake. Continue ahead; it is marked by a metal National Park Service sign.

The trail down to Dewey Lakes has one blowdown, near the top, right as you approach the wilderness permit kiosk. It’s bad enough that shorter hikers will need to find a way around it.

I saw another Trip Report in which the author questioned that it was only a 600 foot drop in elevation to Dewey Lake (or gain on the way back up). My guidebook says the trail drops “gradually at first, then losing 650 feet in the last mile”. So I was curious to see what my GPS would record. The verdict is in: The trail drops at a very even slope all the way to the creek between the two lakes, 1.1 miles, for a loss of 660 feet. After that, the trail is nearly flat along Dewey Lake. And even if you drop down to the shore of Dewey Lake, the elevation loss from the trail junction is just 700 feet. That’s not bad at all, and much of the route is in shade.

Back on the Loop, past the Dewey Lakes junction, the trail heads due west and the views open up more and more. A rocky outcropping offers views to the south. A small lake provides a picturesque backdrop for Mt. Rainier.

When you get to Hwy. 410, cross safely to the far end of the nearest small parking lot, where the trail leads down to Tipsoo Lake. You have three options to return to the trailhead. You can stay left (away from the lake shore), follow the near shore, or go around the lake on the east side. Following the near shore will take you back to the metal sign you encountered earlier.

We arrived about 10:30am on Sunday. Plenty of parking was still available. We had no issues with bugs. There is still snow on the trail in places, but the snow is packed, well-traveled, and easily passable. It is easy to follow, even over the snow. At the end of our hike, the lot was more full than when we arrived but still had space.

Made a mistake and ended up on the lower section of the Naches Peak Loop (near the southern tip of Tipsoo Lake) because we couldn't find any signage for Dewey Lake, and without cell reception had a hard time finding additional directions (let that be a reminder to all - WTA's website rules, but sometimes you don't have internet and it's always better to have some of the instructions in a good old fashioned guidebook or scribbled on your own paper). We parked just inside the National Forest (not National Park) near the PCT/Sheep Lake-Sourdough Gap trail since I already had a NW Forest Pass, but walked south into the National Park and started our hike at the Naches Peak Loop entrance right across from Tipsoo. Once you walk a little ways up the entry point, there is a trail sign pointing to Dewey Lake.

There were still a few snow fields at the beginning of the trail, and I wished I had my trekking poles for balance. Views of Rainier are fantastic in this first half on Naches! Tons of alpine flowers are blooming, too. Magenta paintbrush is starting to come in. Then we made it to the turn off for Dewey Lake. There is a large blowdown right at the beginning of the Dewey Lake trail where the permit box is - you can climb over it relatively easily though. The rest of the path to Dewey is rocky and rooty, so watch your footing. You descend quite a ways to get to the lake, and there are more snow fields on the way down which are now melting in earnest. There are some suspect looking snow bridges here, so be careful. The lake is beautiful when you arrive, crystal clear, and was a perfect spot for us to dip our feet and eat lunch. Then we made our way back up to the main trail; a real thigh burner on the return. I don't buy that Dewey is only a 600 ft elevation gain!

At the main trail, we went to the right and continued our loop on the PCT. There's definitely more snow on this side of the loop; still manageable without special gear, but beware, snow bridges are getting weak in places and you should not trust your full body weight to any of these without testing it first. You can't see Mt. Rainier from the PCT side, but there are some other spectacular views anyways, craggy peaks and small alpine lakes and meadows.

BE ADVISED: We met another set of hikers about a mile from the Dewey Lake/PCT junction who just moments before we got there, had seen a black bear in the field below. They got a great video of it! Be sure to stay bear aware.

 

I'm a slow hiker and still feel in "winter shape" despite it being mid-July; the elevation makes this hike more challenging. Round trip took us about 6.5 hours, with lots of breaks.

We went today planning on playing in the snow. Last time we were up (about 3 weeks ago) there was so much snow snow. Today there was none. Our 5 year old was very disappointed. So instead he decided to try his first hike (he hates walking). We made it about a mile into the hike when we decided to head back. The only thing more annoying than the buzz of the flies was his whining. He did get to sled a little bit in what was left of the snow. The trail was pretty clear from what we could tell. A couple of trees to climb over but completely doable. And what is left of the snow is easily passable with just trail runners.