Beginning from the famed Sunrise area of Mt Rainier National Park, the Sunrise Rim Trail is an incredible loop through stunning alpine terrain. Sunrise is the highest point in the park cars are able to access, and the trail goes up from there! You’ll hike through alpine tundra, over huge drop offs, and past wonderful alpine lakes. This hike has just about everything!
Miles/Elevation:
5.5 miles
1,115 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:
Travel to the northeast corner of Mt Rainier National Park via Highway 410 from the north, east, and west, or follow Highways 12 and 123 until reaching 410. Continue on 410 until reaching the turnoff for the Sunrise Park Road.
Pass through the entrance station to the national park, and follow Sunrise Park Road all the way up the flank of Mt Rainier until reaching the Sunrise Visitor Center. This is the highest point in the park accessible by car, and there is a large parking lot in front of the visitor center to park in.
Tips:
- On busy summer weekends, arrive early. Parking here does fill up by late morning on occasion.
- Continue on to either the Mt Fremont Fire Lookout or Second Burroughs Mountain to extend your day.
- I would recommend hiking clockwise, though counterclockwise would be fine.
- Wear bug spray.
The Sunrise Rim Trail:
To First Burroughs Mountain:
From the parking lot head south to begin on the Sunrise Rim Trail. This trail gets its name from the fact that it follows the rim of the valley below, and as such there are some pretty sweet views looking thousands of feet below!
The trail starts off very mellow, and the first two miles will be pretty easy. You’ll even have some downhill hiking to do! Early on, the trail passes through mixed terrain of alpine Pacific Northwest forest and open meadows. This is definitely an active wildlife area too, and when I hiked here I heard a large animal in the woods just a few feet away! I didn’t see it, but I’m pretty sure it was larger than a deer!
After a mile or so, you’ll encounter Shadow Lake, the first notable feature of the hike. Shadow Lake isn’t a spectacular alpine lake by any means, it’s just an alpine meadow that is just concave enough to hold water, but it’s always nice to find some water!
Beyond Shadow Lake, you’ll pass Sunrise Camp backpacking campground, and from there the climbing begins. After a quick 130 feet of climbing, you’ll reach an incredible overlook of the glacier and valley below! You’re right on the cliff edge here, and in addition to the cool stuff below, Mt Rainier looms above!
Crystal Peak has more incredible views of Rainier, but you’ll have to work for them!
Beyond the viewpoint, the trail really hits its stride. You’ll traverse along the side of First Burroughs Mountain along a scree covered mountainside before eventually reaching the summit. There were still one or two snow patches when I hiked this in late July, and even then I was a bit nervous. A slip here would mean falling a very long way!
Throughout this exposed traverse, the views are incredible! The views here aren’t necessarily any different from the views at the first overlook, but it’s always great to have stuff to look at!
All told, the climb from Shadow Lake to the summit of First Burroughs Mountain is about 900 vertical feet, and you’ll have just under a mile and a half to do it. It’s a decently steep climb, but anyone who is in decent shape can do it. Take it slow if you need!
After your 900 foot climb, you will emerge on the broad plateau that marks the summit of First Burroughs Mountain. While this isn’t a true mountain (Second Burroughs is higher right next door) it definitely feels like you are up high!
If you like this hike, definitely check out nearby Shriner Peak!
The terrain atop Burroughs is alpine tundra. You are above the treeline here, which is pretty awesome considering the moderate nature of this hike, so there isn’t really anything around other than rocks, moss, snow, and maybe a bit of grass! The view is unsurprisingly epic, and all in all it’s a pretty sweet highpoint for a 5ish mile hike!
After taking in the view atop Burroughs, it’s time to continue the loop back towards Sunrise. You could continue on to Second and even Thirds Burroughs (which we do have an article about!) but that’s a story for another time! For now, take a right to begin the descent towards Frozen Lake.
To Frozen Lake:
The trail descending down this side of the mountain is also really cool. There are expansive views, now looking to the north rather than the south, it’s rocky, and it’s a bit exposed! In the distance, you will eventually be able to see your next destination, Frozen Lake, and beyond that Mt Fremont.
Soon after spotting Frozen Lake in the distance you will quickly arrive at this small but photogenic body of water. Frozen Lake is a very popular destination for hikers looking for a very short hike, and it is pretty (but you’ll have had better views already!). The little lake actually provides drinking water for the Sunrise area, so no swimming!
Back To The Trailhead:
After enjoying Frozen Lake, continue on to the Sourdough Ridge Trail. This is another epic piece of trail, and again you’ll have incredible views, wide open terrain, and a nice bit of exposure! This trail will likely be much busier than the earlier Sunrise Rim, but it’s still a beautiful piece of hiking!
Snow Lake is another stunning and easy hike in Mt Rainier!
When hiking up Sourdough Ridge, Mt Rainier dominates the skyline and the views, but on the way down, the rest of Mt Rainier National Park is the highlight! The numerous fairly small, but photogenic and jagged peaks of the Cascades surrounded by the dense pine forest of the Pacific Northwest make for a fine alternative to the soaring Rainier.
After a half mile, you’ll drop off the ridge and descend down into the meadows above Sunrise. The views are still great, but by now the parking lot and visitor center will be in sight. This isn’t a super long hike, but in terms of views, excitement, and overall quality, it’s about as good as it gets!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
As far as moderate hikes go, they don’t get much better. The views beginning in the parking lot are epic, and they only get better as you go. The trails are beautifully made. The only downsides here are the crowds, which can be substantial, and the lack of a truly great final destination.
You’ll be summiting First Burroughs Mountain (which isn’t technically a mountain) which is cool, but it doesn’t compare to some of the other places you can reach on a 5 mile hike! It’s a high bar, but there are other slightly better hikes in this difficulty range to be found!
Pros:
- Great views throughout
- Fun trails with big drop offs
- Excellent trail quality
- Opportunities to continue on
Cons:
- Busy
- High point is a bit lackluster
Alternative Hikes:
Frozen Lake via Sourdough Ridge
When To Hike The Sunrise Rim Trail:
The Sunrise Rim Trail 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 those are the best times to hike in Mt Rainier!
Links For Further Reading:
Sunrise Rim Trail | Map, Guide – Washington | AllTrails
Hike the Sunrise Rim Trail | Visit Rainier
Sunrise Rim Trail | 5-Mile Beautiful Hike Near Mount Rainier | 10Adventures
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