Naches Peak Loop (Mount Rainier)

What: A great loop hike for autumn colors and inspiring views of Mount Rainier.

Where: Follow I-5 South to I-405 and take I-405 to Highway 169, Exit 4A. Take Highway 169 to Enumclaw and Highway 410. Follow Highway 410 through Greenwater (watch for the speed trap!) to Mount Rainier National Park. This is the only area where no entrance fees are collected in the park. When the state ceded the highway to the park, it specified that no tolls were to be collected. Drive to Cayuse Pass and follow Highway 410 to the left to the Tipsoo Lakes parking area, just below Chinook Pass.

Length: 4.5 miles, loop

Beginning elevation: 5,300 feet

Highest elevation: 6,000 feet

Maps: USGS Chinook Pass, Green Trails Mount Rainier East

Notes: Showy Western anenome, wispy golden tamarack in the forests to the east and meadows sprinkled with huckleberries make this an autumn favorite.

Never mind that the view of Mount Rainier is triple chocolate to your eyes. Begin your hike at the Tipsoo Lakes Trailhead, one of two possible trailheads for this hike.

The reason? You won’t need a Northwest Forest Pass, as you would at the Chinook Pass Trailhead. Parking is free at Tipsoo Lakes.

To begin, climb past the picnic area and around the shoulder of Yakima Peak to the big log entrance gate at Chinook Pass. Cross the bridge and follow the trail into the William O. Douglas Wilderness. The route climbs around Naches Peak and at 2.8 miles, arrives at the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail and route to Dewey Lakes.

Stay right at the junction and traverse the slopes of Naches Peak for the best views of Mount Rainier. The trail drops down to Upper Tipsoo Lake, crosses Highway 410, and ends at the Tipsoo Lakes parking area.

Permits: None; pets prohibited on the National Park section of this trail.

More information: Mount Rainier National Park, 360-569-2211

Seabury Blair Jr.

Blair is a contributing author to Day Hike! Mount Rainier, by Ron C. Judd, published by Sasquatch Books.