We’ll assemble early morning of Day 1 for the Mt. Rainier National Park Hiking Tour and head directly to our hike on the flanks of the mountain. We explore the High Lakes trail in a loop that travels through evergreen forest, past lakes, waterfalls and lookouts. We end the hike at Narada Falls where the water drops 188 feet in two tiers. (4 miles) We then take a short shuttle the Paradise Inn looking up on the volcano for our first two nights. The Historic Inn has been recently renovated and offers full services and views and trails from its doorstep.
On Day 2, we’ll hike up the mountain towards the famous Camp Muir. Along the way we enjoy Paradise Meadows on trails that offer continuous vistas of Mount Rainier and its glaciers, rivers and valleys. You may not want to end the hike, but eventually we return to the Paradise Inn. (6 miles).
Early morning of Day 3, we’ll leave Paradise and shuttle over Chinook Pass, just beyond the park’s eastern boundary. We’ll join the Pacific Crest Trail just east of the pass as part of a grand loop that encircles Naches Peak (6,452 feet), with a spur out to Dewey Lake. Stunning views of Rainier and many of the other dominant peaks of the eastern slope highlight our return to our trailhead (6.7 miles). We’ll then continue along the park’s eastern perimeter to Crystal Mountain Resort, where we’ll spend our final three overnights.
The Sunrise area is our destination for Day 4. With the awe-inspiring Rainier in front and a backdrop of meadows offering the most riotous display of wildflowers that we have ever experienced, our hike to Berkeley Park is a favorite part of the itinerary (8 miles).
On Day 5, we’ll re-enter the park through the White River Station toward Sunrise. Our focus for this day is a section of the famed Wonderland Trail, the 90-mile epic track that encircles Rainier. We’ll hike the Fryingpan Creek section to the subalpine meadows of Summerland and beyond into the rocky alpine above looking over the edge of the snowfields (8 miles).
Following a final night at Crystal Mountain, Day 6 will bring us to road’s end at Sunrise and a hike beyond timberline to the First and Second Burroughs. The views of Rainier throughout this hike are incredible along a trail that overlooks the entire expanse of the park’s northern section including snow-clad Mt. Baker, well to the north of Rainier—all in all, a dramatic conclusion to our week-long engagement with this grand mountain (6 miles).
