It’s been on my bucket list forever, but I finally made it to Mt Rainier National Park! While the visit was just a day trip from the resort town of Leavenworth, we managed to get in a pair of stunning short hikes. The first of which was the gorgeous Naches Peak Loop.
Located in the northeast corner of Mt Rainier National Park, the Naches Peak Loop is a short loop hike that offers some stunningly beautiful views of the Mt Rainier landscape. Most striking obviously is the 14,000+ foot Mt Rainier. This gigantic, glaciated, mountain dominates the skyline of the entire park, and this loop provides awesome, unobstructed, views of this stunning mountain!
Miles/Elevation:
3.3 miles
636 feet vertical gain
About Mt Rainier National Park:
Established as a national park in 1899, Mt Rainier National Park has a long history of preservation. Centered around the iconic Mt Rainier, the park preserves about 236,000 acres of land, ranging in elevation from 1,600 feet to over 14,000. This massive elevation range makes for insane views and mountains that seemingly scrape the sky!
Mt Rainier itself is one of the most iconic mountains of America. The 14,411 foot high volcano is the highest peak in the Cascade Mountain Range, the highest peak in the Pacific-Northwest, and the fourth highest in the entire lower 48!
It may not be the tallest in the lower 48, but the heavily glaciated slopes of Rainier give a striking appearance compared to many of America’s other great mountains. The fact that it towers 8-10,000 feet above the surrounding terrain makes it all the more intimidating!
Mt Rainier National Park is an incredible destination for outdoor recreation. For the adventurous, a summit of Mt Rainier can be a once in a lifetime experience. The mountain’s glacier-covered slopes make for a serious mountaineering objective, and many train here to prepare for high peaks in the Himalaya, Karakorum, and Andes!
For the less ambitious, Rainier is an incredible place to hike! The Wonderland Trail, a 93 mile backpacking route around Mt Rainier, is one of the best backpacking routes in America. The park as a whole contains over 260 miles of maintained trails to choose from! Whether you want easy day hikes or huge backpacking trips, you’ll find it here!
Mt Rainier has a number of different locations to choose from when exploring. The most popular is Paradise, located on the south slopes of the mountain. Near Paradise to the west is Longmire, located at much lower elevation along the Nisqually River. The highest elevation area reachable by vehicles is Sunrise, located in the north east portion of the park.
Every part of this park has incredible views, you just have to choose which area to focus on!
Getting To The Trailhead:
Think about purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Mt Rainier!
The trailhead for this hike is the Naches Peak Loop Trailhead located on highway 410. From the Seattle area, take 410 east into the mountains. From Yakima and Naches, take 410 west. From the south, take highway 123 north through the national park, and then turn right onto 410 heading east.
The Naches Peak Loop Trailhead is located right next to Chinook Pass. There are a number of different places to park. The actual Naches Peak Loop Trailhead has a bit of parking along the side of the road, as does the Chinook Pass Overlook Trailhead, just down the road.
I actually recommend parking at Tipsoo Lake. The loop actually passes right past Tipsoo Lake, so the parking area here is right on the trail. It doesn’t add any time or distance to the trail. The parking area at Tipsoo Lake also has picnic tables, toilets, and a bit more space for relaxing!
The Naches Peak Loop:
The Initial Climb:
Starting from the parking area at Tipsoo Lake, we headed south, planning to hike the loop in a counter-clockwise direction. The trail heads through a stand of trees, then crosses the highway to begin the climb.
Immediately after crossing the highway, you’ll begin the major climb of the hike. I say major, but keep in mind this is a pretty easy hike. The entire loop only demands about 600 feet of climbing, and you’ll get at least 500 feet of that out of the way right off the bat!
From the beginning of the ascent, the views of Rainier behind you are incredible, and they only get better as you climb! You’ll be hiking through forest, but the trees are thin enough that you have nearly continuous views of the giant peak in the distance! Rainier totally dominates the skyline, and it makes for an incredible backdrop!
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
After around .6 miles of uphill hiking, you’ll gain the ridgeline and cross over to the backside of Naches Peak. Here, the views change. No longer will Rainier itself dominate the skyline, instead, you will have expansive views looking east over the heavily forested mountains of the eastern Cascades.
Around The Back:
While the view changes once you hit the ridge, you aren’t done climbing quite yet. When you lose sight of Rainier, you’ll have climbed about 300 feet. You’ve still got around 250 feet of climbing left to do to reach the day’s high point!
There are plenty of black bears in Washington so make sure you’re bear safe!
The trail on the backside of Naches Peak begins with a steady but gentle climb up 100 feet or so, and then begins a period of moderate undulation. Keep in mind, this is a short, easy, hike, so when I say undulation, we aren’t talking gigantic slopes! But, there are some gentle ups and downs.
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
On the far side of the peak, you’ll reach the only real intersection of the trail. It’s pretty obvious where you need to go, but be sure to head left at the intersection. Going right will take you down about 600 feet to the Dewey Lakes along the Pacific Crest Trail, so don’t go there if you want an easy day!
As you round the far side of Naches Peak and begin to head back towards the trailhead, you will now be heading north. You’ll again earn a new set of views, this time looking towards a series of 6-7,000 foot peaks beyond highway 410. Continue around the north side of the mountain back towards the road, hiking gently downhill.
Finishing Up:
Once you reach the highway, you will again need to cross. The trail forks where it reaches the highway. One option is to take the trail right down to the road. The other is to cross over the highway on a very nice bridge. Cross the road on the bridge, and then continue on, back into the trees.
Once across the highway, you only have a quarter mile or so left of the loop. The trail for the last half mile alternates between pine forest and open meadows. You will also lose a final 150 feet of elevation in this final quarter mile, so do expect some somewhat steep descents. Some of the steep spots through here caught me a bit off guard!
Within a couple of minutes, you’ll see cars through the branches, and then you’ll be back at the parking lot. This hike is short and sweet, but in it’s 3 miles, it definitely packs a lot in!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
While this isn’t the best hike I’ve ever done, this is about as good as it gets for 3 mile trails. The views are absolutely stunning for essentially the entire loop, the trail quality is excellent, and it’s even easy to access with a paved parking lot! There aren’t any exposed sections of trails or cliff edges to walk along, and it’s busy, but if you’re looking for an easy hike, you won’t find many better!
Pros:
- Incredible views
- Very nice trail
- Easily accessible
Cons:
- Busy
- No exposed trail
Alternative Hikes:
Frozen Lake via Sourdough Ridge Trail
When To Hike The Naches Peak Loop:
The Naches Peak Loop is primarily a summer hiking trail. Mt Rainier National Park gets absolutely massive amounts of snowfall, and while the higher slopes of Rainier itself get the most, even the lower reaches of the park get huge quantities of snow.
Most of the roads through Mt Rainier close for the winter, so you won’t even be able to reach most of the park during winter and most of spring. This means that you must wait until the snow melts and the roads open to hike. Once the snow starts falling in the fall, the roads close again!
This all means that the hiking season in Mt Rainier is exceptionally short. Many roads here don’t actually open until July, so hiking season really is just July through September. You could chance it and try June or maybe October, but I wouldn’t count on the roads being clear. July and August are extremely busy, but I think the summer months are the best time to hike in Mt Rainier!
Links For Further Reading:
Naches Peak Loop Trail – Washington | AllTrails
Naches Peak Loop — Washington Trails Association
Naches Peak Loop Trail – Mount Rainier National Park (US National Park Service)
4 Comments