Hiking Trails

Burroughs Mountain Trail — strenuous

The five-mile loop trail crosses high mountain meadows and ridges. Beginning at Sunrise, walk along the subalpine meadows and watch for pika and marmots, small mammals that live above the timberline. The trail starts out easy but gets trickier with its 1,200-foot elevation gain, three hours of hiking time and a steep snowfield crossing in early season.

Skyline Trail — strenuous

Beginning near the Paradise Visitor Center, take the half-day trail leading up the west side of Alta Vista Ridge. The five-mile loop trail, with only a 1,500-foot elevation gain, offers spectacular views of Nisqually Glacier at Glacier Vista, and Mounts Adams and Saint Helens at Panorama Point. 

Wonderland Trail — strenuous

Wonderland's trailheads are located throughout the park and walking all or even some of this trail's 93 miles is the comprehensive way to explore the park. The 10- to 14-day trail circles Mount Rainier, passing through subalpine meadows, glacial streams, valley forests and mountain passes. This hike has a cumulative change in altitude of 20,000 feet and reaches its highest point at Panhandle Gap, which is at 6,901 feet.

Two sections of the Wonderland Trail will be unusable this year. On the Carbon Glacier Trail, hikers will be rerouted across the Carbon River at the Lake James crossing, then south along the Northern Loop Trail to the Carbon Glacier. An earth slide in Stevens Canyon will reroute hikers along the Stevens Canyon Road for about four miles.