Outside of Paradise - 16 spots to see around Rainier

Mount Rainier National Park offers many more destinations and activities than the obvious one

JEFFREY P. MAYOR; The News Tribune
Last updated: June 1st, 2006 12:10 PM (PDT)

The work, which forced the closure of the inn, is expected to last until 2008.

But Paradise is not the only destination in the park. The Paradise area accounts for about 500 acres of the park’s total 235,625 acres. So there is plenty of park to see and places to get away from the crowds.

Avoiding those crowds is as simple as driving through the park, said Dave Uberuaga, park superintendent. A drive through the park “was designed as an experience itself,” he said.

“Mount Rainier was designed with the automobile in mind. They said we’ll put a curve here, and when you drive around that curve you’re looking right at a waterfall,” Uberuaga said.

“The drive around the mountain, or through the park itself … can be its own experience. You can stop at a few pullouts and have a picnic lunch at one. You can have a short little hike to stretch everyone’s legs and still have a view from wherever you stop.”

Erin Simonson, president of Visit Rainier, said each corner of the park has unique destinations.

“Sunrise is a fantastic experience. The Nisqually corridor offers a number of options that offer some great experiences,” Simonson said.

For those who want to stretch their legs and those who like to do their sightseeing from inside their vehicle, here are some recommendations of places to visit other than Paradise. The basic message, however, is visit a part of the park you’ve never been to before.

Ohanapecosh

Silver Falls: It’s a really wide trail, with safe and easy footbridges, Uberuaga said. “If you get up there early in the season, before mid-July, the falls are just spectacular,” he said. “The setting is one of those I would do any time. There also is an opportunity to do a loop trip.”

The three-mile loop takes about two hours. You can get a trail map at the Ohanapecosh visitor center. On the weekends, usually there is a daily guided interpretive walk to the falls.

Grove of the Patriarchs: The towering Douglas firs and Western red cedars there are more than 1,000 years old, Uberuaga said. “They’re just worth walking up and looking at. They are 20 people around, hand to hand. That’s a really fun, family trip.”

The 1.3-mile loop near Ohanapecosh takes about an hour to complete.

Sunrise

A visit to this area will have to wait until early July when the road finally opens. But the wait is worthwhile.

“That’s a wonderful area for roaming, the Sourdough Trail, the Burroughs Mountain trails,” said Dixie Gatchel, a longtime park volunteer. “The Third Burroughs, it’s like another world. In some places, it’s like a moonscape.”

Sunrise will best mimic the experience of Paradise, just on a smaller scale. There are great views of the mountain, wildflowers, visitor centers, trail heads and picnic areas. It’s also about the same drive from Tacoma.

“Sunrise is incomparable. You start at 6,400 feet. Fremont Lookout is at 7,400 feet. Third Burroughs is at 8,000 feet, and the panoramic view is just outstanding,” Gatchel said.

Sourdough Ridge Trail: This one-mile, self-guided trail takes about an hour to hike. The climb to the ridge top offers great views of Mount Rainier, with Mount Baker, Glacier Peak and Mount Adams in the distance.

Mount Fremont Lookout Trail: This trip is a right of passage for many Northwesterners. The 51/2-mile trip takes three to four hours. The trail follows along Sourdough Ridge to Frozen Lake before it climbs to the fire lookout. From the lookout, you will have an amazing view of Mount Rainier, and the Cascade Range to the north and east.

Carbon River

One of the least-visited parts of the park, this area offers some unique experiences.

“You enter the park on a gravel road, but it’s the most inland rain forest on the West Coast,” Uberuaga said. It is home to marbled murrelets, which leave their nests at dawn, fly down the Carbon River to feed in Puget Sound and then come back at dusk to feed their young.

Carbon Glacier: The hike to the snout of the glacier is a more arduous hike. But it’s the closest, easiest hike in the lower 48 states to the snout of a glacier, Uberuaga said. “It’s kind of brown and rocky; you can see the river coming right out of the snout. It’s not this glowing, white, calving glacier like you see on TV. It’s a totally different experience,” Uberuaga said.

Green Lake: This is a beautiful hike through old-growth forest, Gatchel said. A spur trail leads you to Ranger Falls. The hike is 3.6 miles round trip and takes about two hours.

“The trees getting up there are wonderful. And there’s animal life at the lake, cougar and lynx tracks, bear and coyotes,” Gatchel said.

Tolmie Peak Lookout: Accessed through the Mowich Lake area, the lookout is a favorite with photographers, Gatchel said.

“It’s a very open area. The trees don’t grow very rapidly and/or very big because of the weather,” she said.

The 3.2-mile trail leads you past Eunice Lake before climbing to the fire lookout. Give yourself about four hours to make the trip there and back.

Nisqually

The road in the southwest corner of the park is the busiest, leading visitors to Longmire and then to Paradise. But there are some good options just outside the park and along the road to attract a visitor’s interest.

Glacier View: This hike traverses the west edge of the wilderness area of the same name. The 1.5-mile trail gains about 700 feet of elevation, ending at the site of an old lookout.

“It’s an overlook that offers a knock-your-socks-off view of the mountain. The trail is beautiful, (and) it’s forested, so it’s not too hot even during the summer,” Simonson said.

About three miles east of Ashford on Highway 706, turn left onto Road 59, also known as Copper Creek Road. Drive for about eight miles to the trail head. The trails to nearby Goat Lake and Lake Christine also are good options.

Westside Road: You can still drive about three miles up the road. Beyond that, the old roadbed makes for an easy hike. Simonson said Round Pass, about two miles up the road, is a good destination. From there, you can hike to Lake George or Gobbler’s Knob. This also is one of the few hikes where leashed dogs are allowed.

High Rock Lookout: Just outside the south boundary of the park, “from High Rock you have the most spectacular view of Mount Rainier, even better than Paradise,” Simonson said.

The trail head is off Road 8440 at Towhead Gap in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The hike to the lookout is 1.6 miles and has about 1,300 feet of elevation gain.

“That’s a fantastic day hike and is very doable by families,” she said.

One caution involves the last 200 yards of the trail. It is quite steep but has handrails.

Longmire

Eagle Peak: The hike to and scramble up the 5,958-foot peak makes for a strenuous day hike, Simonson said. The 7.2-mile round trip starts on the south side of the Nisqually River just over the bridge behind Longmire leading to the Community Building.

“Again the reward is a killer view of Mount Rainier. I wouldn’t take kids up there, but a fit couple could do it in a day,” she said.

Rampart Ridge Loop: This is family-friendly hike that begins on the Trail of the Shadows at Longmire. The 4.6-mile loop takes about 21/2 hours and has about 1,300 feet of elevation gain. The first part of the trail climbs through forests and then offers great views from the exposed ridge. One advantage is having access to the facilities at Longmire after the hike.

Stevens Canyon

The portion of the cross-park road beyond Paradise just opened last week. The canyon itself is a good hike, especially if you do a shuttle.

Bench Lake/Snow Lake: “This is one of my favorite easy upper-elevation hikes in the trail system. You’re up at the subalpine level,” Uberuaga said.

The trail head is just past Reflection Lake. The round-trip hike covers about 21/2 miles, with 700 feet of elevation gain. Snow Lake is the best destination, sitting below 6,935-foot Unicorn Peak, with great views.

“We used to do it with the kids for dinner. We’d watch the sunset sitting on the rocks eating fried chicken, and then hike out. The people who know it, use it a lot,” Uberuaga said.

Pinnacle Peak: “This is an excellent scramble, some class 4 scrambling,” Simonson said of the 6,562-foot peak, second-highest in the Tatoosh Range. “You don’t have to rope up, but it offers some challenges.”

The trail head is on the south side of the road, across from Reflection Lakes. The trail is 2.6 miles round trip, with a 1,050-foot elevation gain, and takes about two hours.

Bench Lake curve: For people hoping to see bears, this is one of the best spots. The pullout is less than a mile past the Bench Lake trail head.

“Go early in the spring and you can see bears through your binoculars,” Uberuaga said. “They’re feeding on the southern exposures. They’re hungry because they’re just coming out of hibernation. You can see three or four people at the pullout glassing.”

Waterfall watching: The drive from the Nisqually entrance to Highway 123 north of Ohanapecosh is great for waterfall fans, Uberuaga said.

“Last spring I counted 85 waterfalls. Some of them won’t be there after a few weeks. Just go for a drive and count waterfalls and have a picnic lunch.”

JANET JENSEN/THE NEWS TRIBUNE

Jackie Bui, left, Phuong Bui, center, and Vyvy Nguyen step lively on the Narada Falls Trail to avoid the spray. Visitors to Mount Rainier National Park can pick up the trail at Longmire or, for a shorter hike, at Cougar Rock Campground.

Information

 • General information: www.nps.gov/mora

 • Trail maps: www.nps.gov/mora/general/maps.htm

 • Visit Rainier: www.visitrainier.com

 • State Department of Transportation: wsdot.wa.gov

 • Mount Rainier National Park: 360-569-2211

 • State Department of Transportation: 1-800-695-7623 or 511

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640

jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com

Originally published: June 1st, 2006 01:00 AM (PDT)