As I write this, the road to Mowich Lake is closing for the winter season - Monday 10/14/2024 @ 9:00 AM, meaning you cannot drive up to this trailhead until next year (around July 2025)

Getting to the Spray Park trailhead you have to go by the Tolmie Lookout trailhead, and that parking area was packed. We pulled into the Spray Park TH shortly after 9 am Saturday and we easily found parking not far from the toilets. Saw a handful of tents and ppl camping at the campground, which was at the trailhead. 

We chatted with a few hikers saying they were going the backway up to Spray Park, through Knapsack Pass. We considered going this route, but since none of us have hiked Spray Park prior, we opted to go the more traditional way. Next time though, I would love to try the "backway", which on Gaia looks to be an unmaintained trail, but from the sounds of it, is pretty well traveled, and you can make this a small loop hike. 

Trail: we saw minimal ppl on trail. Which was snow free, not muddy, and easy to navigate. We stopped at Eagle Cliff, which has an amazing view of Mt Rainier, and also stopped at Spray Falls, which was worth the off shoot. We took the junction up to the saddle between Mt Pleasant and Hessong Rock. The trail up to the saddle is steep, maybe 1/2 mile 400 ft gain. We had the saddle to ourselves for a while, and ate lunch up their with a grand view of Mt Rainier. we saw some pikas. 

The hike back was way faster than the hike out. We hiked out and back. My Garmin watch clocked 3 hours 40 min moving time, and about 7.5 miles 2k+ ft gain. 

Beautiful hike! 

Mowich Lake road is closed for the season now, beyond Paul Peak trailhead. But when I went, the road was quite rough, being the end of the season. Many places had so many potholes spread all across the road it was impossible not to hit some, so going very slow through them was necessary. Driving the 14 miles on gravel took about 45 minutes, in a Subaru Crosstrek. Pit toilets were reasonably clean and stocked. Lots of cars parked on the road to go to Tolmie, not so many at the end of the road at Mowich.

I hiked up Knapsack, which was muddy and slick in spots, but overall in great shape. Coming down the boulder field was easy enough, just takes a lot of care, realizing even large rocks can still shift and roll. Poles weren't necessary and I prefer to have my hands free on that kind of terrain anyway.

Spray Park was gorgeous with fall color. Only a tiny bit of new snow on the trail in a couple spots. A fairly uncrowded and completely lovely hike on a gorgeous fall Monday.

#gratitude

Magnificent. This may be my favorite view of the mountain. A mid afternoon Sunday start meant I had the trail going up to myself, and grand views at the top in solitude.

See DK1998's trip report on 9/21/2024 for details on navigating from Spray Park up to Mount Pleasant. Today I hiked up to the saddle between Hessong and Mt Pleasant, walked a little further east toward Mt Pleasant, but stopped short at a perfect rocky perch overlooking Spray and Tahoma in 3D. Highly recommended.

Trail: Good shape. No snow as of October 6. A little muddy in places. The trail up Mt Pleasant was dry. I found it to be steep, but with good footholds and step ups. Poles were essential for me. Think the final push up Goat Mountain or Hannegan Peak in the North Cascades but with better footholds.

Road: Mowich Rd is long, no fun, and downright abysmal in sections. This is the price of admission for the splendor. I wouldn't bring a low clearance vehicle up that road.

Wildlife: Gray Jays and Pika meeps at the saddle. No bear sightings.

Stats: approx 7.5 miles round-trip and 2000 feet of gain. Quite reasonable for uncrowded views like this. 

Great fall hike on a clear day. I had previously hiked Spray Park on a thick foggy summer day with ghostly beargrass blooming all around. I now see what I was missing with the views!

The unpaved section of the road, up until the National Park Boundary, varies from nice and smooth to more pothole than road. But once in the National Park, the number of potholes goes down dramatically. We did fine in our Rav4, but plenty of sedans made it, too.
We arrived at 10am, and were able to get a spot in the main parking lot.  Toilet was stinky but well stocked. The trail had some mud, but nothing unmanageable. The first part of the trail may not have much elevation gain, but there's a lot of up and down until Spray Falls.
The day was so sunny, as soon as we turned into the open meadow, we were blinded by the dew-covered plants and the snow on Rainier. The fall foilage is pretty good right now, and in the sun, the meadow was warm, though there's some ice in the shade you should watch out for.
WIldlife consisted of some grey jays (lots of them swarming a table in the Mowich campground!), Douglas squirrels, and a pika. Lots of huge mushrooms, too.
We finished our day with a snack at the SImple Goodness soda shop in Wilkeson.

Spray Park is in full fall color. If you can get up there before the snow comes and the road to Mowich is closed, I highly recommend it.

I left Tacoma around 8a and arrived at Mowich just after 9:30a. The lot was packed -- most folks going to Tolmie Peak. So, add in some time to walk the road to the trailhead. Don't forget to bring your park pass, or pay the fee coming in, NPS is issuing citations for those who don't.

The road to Mowich is bumpy as ever, but I've been on much worse. Trucks and high clearance vehicles will be just fine, everyone else take care because there are some pretty deep potholes. 

It was 38 degrees when I arrived, and didn't get too much warmer as I climbed up to Spray Park. But the switchbacks will warm you up, and the sunshine at Spray Park kept me comfortable. It was all about the layers!

Take the time to explore the spurs: Eagles Roost overlook, and Spray Falls. Eagles Roost has the most incredible views of the mountain and the glaciers. It's just 1000 feet off the trail, and totally worth it. And Spray Falls is fabulous -- the best views are across the river, and the only way across is a slippery piece of a log, so take good care crossing. If you're not too sure on your feet, I don't recommend crossing. 

The switchbacks start right after the spur to Spray Falls, and it's a good half-mile workout. I didn't think they were too steep -- I recently did Florence Peak on Rainier and this seemed like a cakewalk in comparison. But it is challenging -- the views at the top are worth it, though. This was a solo hike, and I have a fast pace so I made it up in about an hour and twenty minutes.

Spray Park itself was a wonderland, crisp autumn colors in the meadows and tiny bits of frost and ice on the trail, a small sign that winter is coming! The view of the mountain is magnificent. I saw lots of folks finishing up their Wonderland trips, and about 20-25 day hikers along the way. If you go early you'll have the trail mostly to yourself, things pick up quite a bit late morning. And I saw many people starting as I was nearing the parking lot at around 1:30.

I consider the meadows of Mt. Rainer to be the main event, and I gravitate toward hikes that take me through the many sweeping parks. They're generally not easy to get to, but I always consider the journey well worth it. When you get to Spray Park find a rock to sit and have lunch, with views of the greatest show on Earth.