Twenty-five mountain goats below the cliffs, a lush, verdant stream tumbling through a valley, and spectacular views of Mount Rainier, all in a day’s hike from Sunrise. This is a glorious hike.
With a timed-entry permit acquired the evening previous, I was able to enter the park quickly. The Sunrise parking lot at 8 am on a Monday was not even half full. It was clear the day was going to be very warm, and I shed layers, down to just a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, before even starting to walk.
At the five-way intersection past Frozen Lake, I took the middle path towards Berkeley Park and the Wonderland Trail. From here to Grand Park, I saw only a handful of other hikers on the trail. Most hikers were headed to Mt. Fremont Lookout or the Burroughs.
About 15 minutes later, looking up at the base of the cliffs to the left as the path descended, a herd of mountain goats was clustered in the shadows, foraging for food. I was able to count 25 animals, including a few smaller juveniles with their mothers. This group is known to hang out in the area, and a hiker told me that the previous day they had seen almost 50 goats in the same area.
Also seen on the trail were marmots, many ground squirrels of several varieties, and swarms, literally hundreds, of California Tortoiseshell butterflies on or near the path.
From Frozen Lake to Berkeley Park, the path descends for several miles. Eventually it reaches a beautiful mountain stream which cascades down the hill through a field of wildflowers. On the way back I found a log and soaked my hot feet in the refreshing, icy waters.
At a point past the Berkeley camp sites, the route begins a long ascent to Grand Park, along a forested slope that provided much needed shade. On this day the temperature rose into the low to mid 80 degrees.
There are no signs that announce one has reached Grand Park, but it is clear when you arrive. The park is a wide open, flat plateau bare of trees that stretches on for several miles. I hiked to the far (north) end and back, meeting at least 10 hikers who were coming from the Lake Eleanor direction.
Turning around to face south to begin the return trip back to Sunrise, one is met with the full majesty of Mount Rainier’s north face. The Winthrop Glacier and Emmons Glacier, with their various shades of blue and white snow and ice, are straight ahead as one hikes towards the mountain.
The ascent up to Frozen Lake was long and hot. I was glad I brought plenty of water and electrolytes. Several hikers I met on the way up appeared very red in the face and I offered sunblock. I imagine that there was some very sunburned skin by the end of the day. A signboard outside the Sunrise visitor center stated that visitors should take precautions as temperatures would reach 85 degrees.
My Garmin InReach stated that my hike was 14.4 miles round trip. The trip can be shortened by a few miles if one doesn’t hike to the north end of Grand park, where the tree cover begins. Keep in mind that the return includes a long ascent to Frozen Lake and that you will need to save enough energy to make the climb back up at the end of the day
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