Hiking Guide
WTA's hiking guide is the most comprehensive database of hikes in Washington, and comprises content written by local hiking experts and user submitted information. All data is vetted by WTA staff. This resource is made possible by the donations of WTA members.
We respectfully acknowledge the lands we are visiting are the homelands of Indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest, some of whom have reserved rights on these lands. Tribes continue to rely on and share in the management of these lands today. Please tread gently and treat these places with respect.
Results List
4250 HikesParadise Glacier
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 5.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,495 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,409 feet
This trail takes hikers out of the maze of trails at Paradise and up onto one of the many glaciers on Washington's most iconic mountains.
Palisades Lakes
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,800 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,150 feet
Seven lakes, seas of wildflowers, summer huckleberries, a bevy of wildlife and a good chance of quiet solitude await you on this 9-mile out-and-back. What more could you ask for?
Owyhigh Lakes
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 7.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,650 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,275 feet
Walk a very pleasant and well-graded trail through old- and new-growth forest. After a moderate elevation gain, the forest opens into meadowlands filled with wildflowers after the snow melts. A pair of shallow but pretty lakes, with a rocky ridge as a backdrop, completes the scene.
Northern Loop
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 36.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 12,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,500 feet
A beautiful loop trail on the north side of Mount Rainier, this is a shorter, but no less lovely, option to the Wonderland Trail.
Mount Ruth
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
Mount Ruth is a peak in the northeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park. The route to this peak is an off-trail mountaineering route, not an official trail.
Fremont Lookout
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 5.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 7,200 feet
The two-story frame cabin of Mount Fremont, built in 1934, provides an opportunity to reminisce about the time when watchmen stood guard over the forest, with an eye out for wildfires.
Longmire to Paradise
Mount Rainier Area > SW - Longmire/Paradise
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Length
- 12.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,700 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,600 feet
Hike on the Wonderland Trail to three waterfalls on the Paradise River.
Little Tahoma
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
The route to Little Tahoma requires advanced mountaineering skills including glacier travel.
Inter Glacier
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 4.6 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,920 feet
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Highest Point
- 7,150 feet
The Inter Glacier is part of the standard Mount Rainier climbing route. While it may appear to be just a steep snowfield, it is a glacier with crevasses and other hazards. Glacier travel experience and equipment is required.
Grand Park via Sunrise
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 14.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,700 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,815 feet
Grand Park provides one of the absolute best views of The Mountain from any of the trails in the park. Though longer than the access from Lake Eleanor, this route is more scenic, passing through the stark rocky landscape of Sunrise to flower-filled Berkeley Park and then climbing gradually through cool forest before getting to alpine meadows and majestic Grand Park itself.
Goat Island Mountain
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Highest Point
- 7,288 feet
The route to the top of Goat Island Mountain is not on true trail but is more of a scramble.
Glacier Basin Loop
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 11.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 7,400 feet
Expansive views of Mount Rainier, up-close views of Emmons Glacier, lakes, and campsites are just a few features of the Glacier Basin Loop's varying landscape.
Glacier Basin
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 6.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,600 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,900 feet
Floods in 2006 severely damaged the Glacier Basin trail, but after four years of work, WTA completed a new trail in Glacier Basin at Mount Rainier National Park in the summer of 2011. Since then, hikers of all stripes have had the pleasure of enjoying a brand-new route to one of the mountain's most iconic glaciers on an easy-to-hike trail.
Forest Lake
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 4.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,250 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,920 feet
Forest lake is a small lake in the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier.
Emmons Moraine
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 3.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 700 feet
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Highest Point
- 5,000 feet
This short trail crosses the Inter Fork of the White River to views of The Mountain's largest glacier and the valley carved by this river of ice.
Eastside Loop
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 36.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 7,430 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,800 feet
A multi-night backpacking trip around the eastern edge of Mount Rainier National Park.
Burroughs Mountain
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 9.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 7,828 feet
Burroughs Mountain can be described as a "mountain against a mountain." At over 7,800 feet, Burroughs Mountain sets right up against the northeastern face of Mount Rainier, hugging the Winthrop Glacier. It offers one of the most dramatic views of Washington's largest volcano.
Berkeley Park
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 7.7 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 1,700 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,800 feet
Here's a hike that takes you through a stark landscape to a stunningly lush one. Berkeley Park is a flower-filled utopia where creeks chatter, pikas squeak, marmots lounge, and you can soak it all in just a few miles from the Sunrise Visitor Center.
Banshee Peak
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Highest Point
- 7,400 feet
Banshee Peak is an off-trail summit that requires advanced mountaineering skill to reach. It lies east of Mount Rainier.
Wonderland Trail
Mount Rainier Area
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Length
- 93.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 22,000 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,750 feet
The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile hiking trail that encircles Washington's most famous volcano. Each year, hikers vie for permits to embark on a backpacking trip on it, with only a handful scoring the permits to undertake this strenuous hike.
White River to Sunrise
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 5.8 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,100 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,400 feet
A short but steep climb on the Wonderland Trail from a campground in Mount Rainier National Park to the Sunrise Visitor Center area.
Sunrise to Carbon River Traverse
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 13.7 miles, one-way
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Elevation Gain
- 5,200 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,700 feet
A section of the scenic Wonderland Trail, enjoy views of Mount Rainier and the Carbon Glacier, numerous creek crossings, and meadows as you connect between Sunrise and the Carbon River.
Sunrise Nature
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 1.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 300 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,773 feet
This hike is short but stunning with Mount Rainier keeping watch over a wildflower-filled sub-alpine meadow. You'll see iconic views of Mount Rainier, butterflies fluttering between colorful blooms, and if the sky is clear, a view of the Cascades all the way to Mount Baker.
Sunrise Lake
Mount Rainier Area > NE - Sunrise/White River
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Length
- 1.5 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 425 feet
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Highest Point
- 6,150 feet
This short, one-mile, downhill jaunt from the hairpin turn on the road to Sunrise makes a great detour when hiking the Palisades Lakes trail, or a nice warm up before tackling longer hikes like Burroughs or Dege Peak from Sunrise.
Mount Rose
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 6.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,500 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,301 feet
Hike a steep trail to a rocky perch with views of Lake Cushman and the southeastern corner of the Olympic Mountains.
Mildred Lakes
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 9.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 2,300 feet
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Highest Point
- 4,100 feet
Take a sojourn in the Hood Canal Ranger District on this way trail within Mount Skokomish Wilderness. If you're looking for solitude, you'll find it on this out-of-the-way gem in the Olympic National Forest.
Flapjack Lakes via North Fork Skokomish River
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 15.4 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 3,050 feet
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Highest Point
- 3,850 feet
This is a burly day trip, but a great overnight destination for exploring the Sawtooth Range in the Olympic high country.
Dry Creek
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 800 feet
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Highest Point
- 1,600 feet
Climb through second-growth forest to a not-so-dry creek, while enjoying spring wildflowers and views of nearby Lake Cushman and surrounding peaks. WTA has done years of work on this trail, improving it from a rough footpath to a pleasant, easy-to-follow (if steep) trail.
Staircase Rapids
Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal
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Length
- 2.1 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 574 feet
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Highest Point
- 950 feet
Staircase Rapids is a beautiful 2.1 mile loop trail following the North Fork of the Skokomish River. Enjoy the Olympic old growth forests with a lush understory of mosses and ferns.
Iron Goat Trail
Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - West
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Length
- 6.0 miles, roundtrip
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Elevation Gain
- 700 feet
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Highest Point
- 2,800 feet
Take a hike through railroad history. The old tunnels, rusting relics, cement snow sheds and the big red caboose should appeal to kids of all ages, and the complex history of the railroad and those who built it, as well as the avalanche that wiped everything away will appeal to history buffs.