Mt Rainier, the iconic mountain of the Pacific Northwest. Climbing it is a multi day mountaineering ordeal, but just visiting the national park without climbing something feels like a waste and is just disappointing. So what’s one to do? What if there was a prominent, yet hikeable mountain nearby. Maybe one that has incredible views of Rainier itself, and is doable as a day hike. Well, turns out that mountain exists, and it’s called Shriner Peak!
Shriner Peak is relatively small all things considered, but being located seemingly just a stones throw from the massive Mt Rainier makes its summit views some of the best you’ll find! Reached via a steep trail easily done as a day hike, Shriner will make you earn the views, but man is it worth it!
Miles/Elevation:
9 miles
3,402 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:
The Naches Peak Loop is an incredible easy hike in Mt Rainier National Park!
The Shriner Peak Trailhead is located on Highway 123 on the east side of Mt Rainier National Park. From the Seattle area, follow Highway 410 towards the national park and then turn onto Highway 123. From Portland, take I-5 north towards Highway 12, then take 12 east until reaching 123. From there, follow 123 north into the park. From the east, follow Highway 12 west until you reach the intersection with 123.
Once on 123, follow it either north or south until you reach the trailhead. When you approach from the south, follow 123 north for about 9 miles, then park in the pullout on the left. From the north, follow 123 south for about 7 miles. The pullout will be on your right.
Tips:
- Arrive early to get parking or come on a weekday. There is very limited parking space here.
The Shriner Peak Trail:
To The Summit:
Right off the bat, this hike begins climbing. You’ll start climbing right from the beginning of the hike, and you’ll keep climbing all the way to the summit. There is honestly no respite, and throughout you’ll be gaining 600-900 feet per mile. At least it’s consistent!
The start of this hike takes you through dense Cascade forest. The forest is really pretty with large swathes of moss hanging from the trees, but there won’t be much for views over the first mile or two. The trail quality is generally really nice through the woods, but you’ll have plenty of climbing to do!
Snow Lake is one of the most stunning alpine lakes in Mt Rainier!
After a mile or two, you’ll begin leaving the forest and entering more open terrain. On clear days, you should start having some really nice views, but when I hiked here there was a dense layer of fog. I was literally getting drenched from the moisture in the air. There were giant drops of water just condensing on my arms!
Think about purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Mt Rainier!
Out of the forest, the trail picks up in incline slightly and gets a bit rockier. You will also probably start noticing some pretty cool flowers in the summer if you visit at the right time (July is generally the peak). Still, no views for me, but I had hope that it would clear up at the summit!
There isn’t much for switchbacks on the first couple of miles, but after that the trail consists of many tight sets of switchbacks. The upper switchbacks are fairly open and would have pretty sweet views if the weather was clear, but it was still cloudy for me!
Help keep nature pristine. Follow Leave No Trace!
As I began approaching the summit, the clouds started to clear just a little bit. You can tell the summit is getting close because when you look up, you’ll see it, and there won’t be anything beyond. And as I started getting close, the sun started peeking out just a little bit. I still couldn’t see anything around me, but I had a little bit of a shadow!
As I crested the ridge and gained the summit, the lookout tower came clearly into view. The tower was used to watch for wildfires for years, and is still partially maintained, though isn’t consistently used anymore. Still though, I was surrounded by a thick layer of clouds and had none of the views I was hoping for.
Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!
After climbing up the fire lookout and looking around a bit, I explored the summit area, and then sat down and settled in to wait out the clouds. I wasn’t at all sure that the clouds would clear, but I wasn’t in a hurry, so I figured I would try and wait them out. Fog often burns off by late morning or early afternoon, so I figured my chances were decent of at least catching a glimpse of Rainier.
This is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
The results of my wait were far better than I could have hoped for. The clouds gradually cleared over the course of an hour or two, and I first caught passing glimpses of Rainier, then good looks at the summit itself, then the whole mountain, and finally the entire region was stunningly clear! It was one of the most incredible summit experiences I’ve had watching those clouds clear, and words honestly don’t do it justice. Here’s a progression of how it looked!
Hiking Down:
After spending a bunch of time on the summit, I began the hike down. The sun was out, and the day had become glorious! The views that I had hoped for on the way up were out in full force! While there weren’t constant epic views of Rainier, every few corners there was an awesome look at the mountain!
Once I was on the descent, progress came quickly and honestly before I knew it I was almost down. The trail quality is pretty nice, and with the well graded trail, you really can move pretty fast. This hike ended up making for an absolutely epic day, and while it didn’t start exactly as I had planned, it was thoroughly awesome and is one of the more memorable hikes I’ve done!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
While the views atop Shriner Peak are utterly spectacular, I’m going to give this hike a 9/10. That’s still a really good grade, but you might be thinking this is an easy 10/10. To me it’s not quite good enough for that. The lower half of the hike, and maybe even more than that, has almost nothing for views. The trail was slightly overgrown, and while it was still passable, it was annoying. Amazing final destination, but only a good trail reaching it!
Pros:
- Incredible views
- Very good trail quality
Cons:
- Very few good views until top
- Somewhat overgrown
Alternative Hikes:
The Wonderland Trail to Camp Summerland
When To Hike Shriner Peak:
The Shriner Peak 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:
Shriner Peak Lookout Trail | Map, Guide – Washington | AllTrails
Shriner Peak (WA) : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost
Hiking Shriner Peak | Visit Rainier
Shriner Peak Trail – Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
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