Loop Hikes in Mt. Rainier National Park

In 2016 I published an article on hiking shorter segments in Mt. Rainier National Park, as that year only walk up permits were available and there was confusion and relative chaos for Wonderland Trail hikers. These loop hikes are of course still viable alternatives vice doing the entire Wonderland and gives the hiker more options, especially for walk up permits.

Of course, there are other loops available beyond those in the article, and some of my suggestions will be included here. If one is experienced and in excellent shape, these can be done as day hikes. However, overnights and multiday trips are also an option, availing oneself of the backcountry camps along the way. Happy Hiking!

Northern Loop Trail

White is the Wonderland Trail portion of the Northern Loop, not covered in this series

The Northern Loop Trail takes the hiker for a loop around the northern part of the park, essentially circling the Elysian Fields, nestled between ridges and peaks. The southern part of the loop is on the Wonderland Trail, which is not covered in this two part sojourn. The NLT can be accessed from Sunrise (as in this series) or from the Carbon River entrance and Mowich Lake, both of which currently have no access by non government vehicles due to the closure of the Fairfax bridge. Reference here for my 1 day transit in 2023, which entailed 38 miles and 9,800’ of elevation gain/loss (from Sunrise). I incorporate a fair amount of that 2023 trip footage but this series calls on a more extensive library, from 2010 to 2024. Part I includes the sections • Introduction/Overview • Sunrise • Berkeley Park • Grand Park/Scarface/Fire Creek • West Fork White River. Part II includes • Pigeon Peak/Lake James/Natural Bridge • Windy Gap/Elysian Fields/Tyee Ridge and Peak • Yellowstone Camp/Wonderland Trail Intersection. As noted in the Introduction, off trail travel is depicted, from a well established social trail to the extremely sensitive Elysian Fields. Please carefully assess your skill set before venturing off trail, and be very cognizant of LNT practices…if you don’t know what that means, then stay on trail. That said, the NLT makes for an awesome loop and serves up a succulent eye/ear/olfactory smorgasbord. Many hikers incorporate the NLT in their Wonderland Trail trip, usually taking 3 to 4 days (or more!) to soak in the awesomeness of the Northern Loop Trail. Included after the two part series is the 2023 NLT hike video. Enjoy!

Included here is the video of the 2023 hike, run time 21 mins.

Western Loop

Reference the intro about “How to Enjoy Mt Rainier in Short Segments.” One of the loops I wrote about is the Western Loop. I'll warn you up front, to complete this loop without backtracking you will be hiking 11 miles of the West Side Road and finishing up with about 2 miles on the main drag to return to your vehicle parked at the Kautz Creek trail head. However, in that article I explain that the west side of the park is the most inaccessible due to the closure of the West Side Road to vehicular traffic. It also sports some of the best scenery on the Wonderland. At that time I hadn’t actually done the Western Loop per se, but I gave it a go on August 7, 2024. If you want the condensed version (13 mins), you can see the video and the blog article here. But if you want the full meal, I have produced a this more immersive video. The “Extended Cut” version is only viewable here, with time stamps so the viewer can get a feel for doing this loop in one shot. Campsites along the way are the usual Wonderland Trail camps (So. Puyallup, Klapatche Park, No. Puyallup) as well as Lake George off the West Side Road. However you choose to enjoy the west side, either as this loop, a Wonderland thru hike, or even day hike forays from the West Side Road, you won’t be disappointed.

Mt. Rainier West Mini Loop

With beautiful fall weather, I secured a spot for 5 days at Cougar Rock Campground to get some outdoors time in. One of those days (Wednesday, Oct 4, 2023) I biked from Cougar Rock to the West Side Road, parking the bike at the rack at the South Puyallup trail head. From there it was a 13 mile loop hike up the So. Puyallup trail to the Wonderland, CW to St. Andrews Park and Lake, Klapatche Park, the St. Andrews Trail to the West Side Road...which I then hiked back to my bike and rode back to Cougar Rock. Round Trip stats: 42 miles (13 hiking)/5800' elevation. I’m including this in my “Shorts” section because it is thematic, with organ music written for the middle section.