On Mt. Rainier – Scenic Walk with Meadow Flowers in Bloom

Nice walk on Mt. Rainier

Since I’m rarely in Seattle, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to catch the meadow flowers in bloom on Mt. Rainier. The scenic Naches Peak Loop Trail was a great way to view the flowers as well as a few lakes in a relatively easy three-plus mile walk.

Mt. Rainier is around a one and a half hour drive from downtown Seattle. While I joined Evergreen Escapes for this tour to Mt. Rainier, it’s actually pretty easy to do this walk on your own if you have a car. The trail is well signed and clear. The other benefit of the Naches Peak Loop Trail is that it’s a round trip walk, coming back to the car park. Elevation change on the walk is around 300 feet so it’s not too demanding. The one tip is to do the walk clockwise so that the view of Mt. Rainier remains ahead of you (rather than behind).

Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
Start of the trail
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
The early part of the walk will go through some trees
Alpine flowers on Mt. Rainier
The meadow flowers are all around
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
The trail continues over the walkway
Naches Peak Loop Trail
The red indian paintbrush and purple lupine flowers were dominant
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
Typical view on the first part of the walk – flowers in the meadow, mountain ridges in the back
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
About midway through, there’s a nice swimming hole
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
Looking back on the trail after leaving the swimming hole
View of Dewey Lake
Looking down on Dewey Lake
Mt. Rainier trails
The Naches Peak Loop Trail shares part of the long Pacific Crest Trail but here, we follow the sign to Tipsoo Lake
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
This is about as steep as it gets
Naches Loop Trail view of Mt. Rainier
As the trail loops around, a stunning view of Mt. Rainier emerges
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
Another small swimming hole but a particularly scenic one
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
Views of Mt. Rainier remain ahead of us in the latter half of the walk and as we head back down
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
The trail emerges at a road that we cross to get to Tipsoo Lake
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
Walking toward Tipsoo Lake
Nice walk on Mt. Rainier
A stream run off from Tipsoo Lake – at the end of our walk

For more info on walks and visits to Mt. Rainier, the park website is: http://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm

Evergreen Escapes tours: http://www.evergreenescapes.com