Beginning from the Sunrise Visitor Center, the Mt Fremont Lookout Trail is one of the highlights of Mt Rainier National Park. Reaching an old fire lookout on the flank of Mt Fremont, this hike will take you up the famed Sourdough Ridge, past the beautiful Frozen Lake, and then onto the Mt Fremont Trail!
You’ll cross a scree field on a narrow trail perched above dramatic drop offs before reaching the lookout and viewpoint at the end, where an out of this world view of Mt Rainier will await you! Oh, and I should mention there are stunning clear looks at Rainier basically the entire hike. This turned out to not only be one of my favorite hikes at Mt Rainier, but one of my favorites anywhere!
Miles/Elevation:
5.7 miles
1,112 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.
- Wear bug spray.
- Be ready for some exposure. If you have a fear of heights, take it slow.
The Mt Fremont Lookout Trail:
To Frozen Lake:
From the Sunrise parking lot, head north to pick up the trail to Sourdough Ridge. You’ll immediately enter an alpine meadow adjacent to the visitor center, and the view here is already stunning. Directly ahead the gigantic frame of Mt Rainier dominates the skyline, giving you a taste of what’s to come!
After crossing the meadow and ascending a staircase or two, you’ll reach the base of Sourdough Ridge. You’ll have been climbing already, so while the incline may look steep peering up the trail onto the ridge, it’s actually hardly steeper than the first section of trail you’ve already done.
Begin hiking up the ridge. Fortunately, the trail doesn’t actually follow the crest of the ridge, it traverses along the southern side. This means that you won’t have to climb as high as you are probably thinking, though a ridge walk here would be pretty epic!
After somewhere between a quarter and half mile, you’ll emerge on the side of Sourdough Ridge along an exposed section of trail with dramatic drop offs to one side, and a steep hill going up to the other. And here, the trail really gets good!
Ahead is a wide open, massive, stunning view of Mt Rainier! The mountain looked great from the parking lot, but here, up a little higher and with less in front of you, it’s even better! Adding to the splendor is a panorama that includes the entire southern horizon. Despite only climbing a few hundred feet, at this point you’re actually higher than most of the mountains in the region, so you’ll have panoramic views for miles ranging from the eastern horizon to Rainier itself!
This is an incredible section of trail, and it’s made even better by the fact that the incline totally disappears. You will even descend slightly on your way to Frozen Lake!
Crystal Peak has more incredible views of Rainier, but you’ll have to work for them!
After traversing across the face of Sourdough Ridge for about half a mile, you’ll come to the end of this section of incredible trail. Then, you’ll have one small final climb to reach Frozen Lake. When I say small, it’s only about 50 vertical feet, so really small; however, there are a pair of loose switchbacks!
After about a mile and a half of hiking, you’ll arrive at Frozen Lake! This “lake” is a tiny body of water tucked into a hillside in stunning alpine terrain. When I visited in late July, the lake was still bounded by snow and ice across the backside, though I imagine the snow here usually melts away at some point.
If you like this hike, definitely check out nearby Shriner Peak!
Beyond the far shore, Mt Fremont looms in the background, but the best view here doesn’t actually include the lake at all. To your left when looking at the lake, the giant form of Mt Rainier towers above, and the relatively diminutive First Burroughs Mountain lies below. Even behind you, the smaller peaks of Mt Rainier National Park are splayed out on the horizon!
To The Lookout:
Just after passing Frozen Lake, take a right to begin on the Mt Fremont Lookout Trail. The hiking immediately after the lake is flat, and perhaps even slightly downhill, as you pass through alpine meadows beyond the lake. However, you will soon begin climbing again.
Snow Lake is another stunning and easy hike in Mt Rainier!
There is about 400 vertical feet of climbing from here to reach the lookout, and most of that climbing happens in the first half a mile beyond the lake. There are large steps in places, and make no mistake, 400 feet in half a mile is a noticeable incline!
Directly in front of you there isn’t much to look at during the climb, so make sure to take a glance behind towards the massive bulk of Mt Rainier! You’ll even have Frozen Lake in the foreground!
Think about purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Mt Rainier!
After a tough half mile of climbing, you will be up on the ridge and ready to traverse to the lookout! The lookout isn’t actually on the summit of Mt Fremont. The summit of the mountain is just behind Frozen Lake. The lookout is at the far end of the north ridge of the mountain. To get there, you’ll hike on one of the best trails in Mt Rainier National Park!
From the top of the climb to the fire lookout, you will be on an exposed, rocky, and all around stunning section of trail along Mt Fremont’s north ridge. You won’t be on the ridge proper though. Instead, the trail traverses across the talus covered western slope.
Help keep nature pristine. Follow Leave No Trace!
All throughout this section of trail, you will be just feet from a dizzying potential fall down hundreds of feet of mountainside! Don’t worry too much though, if you did slip you would probably crush your skull on the boulders just below so you wouldn’t go too far!
I kid a bit, but you should definitely take this trail seriously. Messing around up here could result in very serious injury. And really the trail is narrow in spots, with large overhanging rocks that make maneuvering difficult. Multiple times, either I or approaching traffic had to completely stop and lean out of the way to let the other pass.
This is bear country so make sure you’re bear safe!
After reaching the apex of the opening climb up and away from Frozen Lake, the trail goes on to undulate towards the lookout at the far end of the ridge. From the top of that first climb, you’ll have about half a mile of hiking to reach the lookout.
Upon arrival to the end of the ridge, the lookout may not be abundantly obvious. Go all the way to the end near the rock ledges, and below you will see the lookout. You’ll probably notice the roof first, but there is actually a slight climb down to reach the structure itself.
While old lookouts are cool, the real star of the show here is the views. Obviously, Rainier dominates, but here I think the looks at Rainier are better than most places. In the foreground you have the epic exposed trail you just hiking. The midground contains the Burroughs Mountains, and obviously Rainier is the dramatic backdrop!
In other directions the panorama is fantastic as well. Far to the north, another Cascade volcano was visible in the clear weather I was fortunate to have. A bit closer, the jagged, largely forested, peaks of the Cascade were great to look at too!
While the views were great, I have to admit I didn’t completely enjoy my time at the lookout. The mosquitoes were absolutely horrid! I was honestly shocked, not because there were bugs (bugs are pretty common in the mountains in peak summer), but because they were so much worse here than I had yet encountered in the park. There was no standing water within a mile of the lookout, but the mosquitoes were awful!
Hiking Out:
Despite the bugs, I did very much enjoy my time at the lookout. But, it eventually was time to head back. Follow the trail back along Mt Fremont, this time with the epic looks at Rainier right in front of you, not behind!
Then descend down towards Frozen Lake, regain the Sourdough Ridge Trail, and begin back towards the trailhead. Hike through the pair of switchbacks, and then enjoy another incredible half mile along Sourdough Ridge!
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: 10/10
It’s not often that I give a trail a 10/10, but this one honestly is as good as it gets. The views are absolutely world class from the first step, the trail reaching the fire lookout is really cool with some nice exposure, and the fire lookout and viewpoint itself is an excellent finishing destination. I cannot name a better trail under 7 miles!
Pros:
- Incredible views throughout
- Exposed trail
- Cool final destination
Cons:
- Busy
- Bugs
Alternative Hikes:
When To Hike The Mt Fremont Lookout Trail:
Always follow basic trail etiquette when you’re hiking!
The Mt Fremont Lookout 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:
Mount Fremont Lookout Trail via Sourdough Ridge Trail | Map, Guide – Washington | AllTrails
Mount Fremont Lookout Trail – Mount Rainier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Hiking the Mount Fremont Lookout Trail | Mount Rainier National Park – Earth Trekkers
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