Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [279]
Organized Tours & Ranger Programs
Gray Line of Seattle (☎ 800/426-7532 or 206/624-5077; www.graylineofseattle.com) offers bus tours into the park from May through September. Cost for a 1-day tour is $54 for adults, $27 for children. The 2-day tour, with overnight accommodations in the park, costs $240 per person single and $160 per person sharing a room.
Ranger-led tours, discussions, and seminars take place or begin at Longmire, Ohanapecosh, Paradise, and Sunrise visitor centers.
At Longmire, short history talks take place daily in summer. There are evening programs at Cougar Rock Campground.
At Ohanapecosh, there are several ranger-led hikes and walks along popular trails almost daily, as well as evening programs during July and August devoted to natural and cultural history and resources.
From Paradise, there are daily walks to view wildflowers and glaciers. Park naturalists also roam the area answering questions.
From the Sunrise area, there are daily ranger-led walks. During July and August, evening campfire programs take place at White River Campground.
Programs change each year and season. Check at a visitor center for specific programs and times during your visit.
Hikes
Some trails, especially those near Sunrise and Paradise, are packed throughout the summer. However, many forest trails offer significant solitude. Trails in the northwest corner, near the Carbon River Entrance, are relatively quiet. The Carbon River Road is recommended for high-clearance vehicles only. This road is known to wash out, so be sure to check the road conditions. Mowich Lake sees more weekend foot traffic since the road there is open in the summer.
For current information on trail availability or closures, call the Wilderness Information Center (☎ 360/569-HIKE) in summer, or the Longmire Museum (☎ 360/569-2211, ext. 3314) year-round.
In addition to the trails discussed below, a section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail skirts the park's eastern edge. This trail runs some 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. For information on the entire Pacific Crest Trail, contact the Pacific Crest Trail Association, 5325 Elkhorn Blvd., PMB No. 256, Sacramento, CA 95842-2526 (☎ 916/ 349-2109; www.pcta.org).
ALL THE WAY AROUND MOUNT RAINIER
Wonderland Trail
93 miles RT. Allow 10–14 days. Strenuous. Access: Start from Longmire, Paradise, Sunrise, Mowich Lake, or Carbon River.
With varying degrees of difficulty, this 93-mile loop is the mother of all trails in the park. It circles Mount Rainier, with numerous connecting trailheads. To some, making this loop through some of the most stunning vistas in the continental United States is a Northwest rite of passage. Think hard and plan ahead before you try to take it all at once. You'll probably want to leave yourself about 2 weeks' time to make the whole loop.
There are more things to see on this trail than you can name. But expect to find yourself traveling through subalpine meadows, glacial streams, mountain passes, valley forests, and an ultimate summit point of 6,500 feet at Panhandle Gap. Many backcountry camping spots along the way provide water in the summer, but be sure to purify every drop. In the interest of planning shorter trips, keep in mind that you can connect with this trail from any of the spokelike trails that crisscross and touch the trail throughout the park, allowing you to set up a hiking mileage and time schedule all your own. It's possible for 1 day's elevation gain to be as much as 7,000 feet.
LONGMIRE AREA
Although flood damage has closed Westside Road 3 miles up, the Lake George and Gobblers Knob Lookout Trail is open.
Carter Falls Trail
2.2 miles RT. Easy. Access: 100 yards downhill from Cougar Park Campground, on the road to Paradise.
This trail passes a wooden pipeline that once carried water, which generated electricity for Longmire. Go past Carter Falls about 50 yards for a look at the second waterfall,