The Washington State Hiking Podcast
Welcome to the The Washington State Hiking Podcast with your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming. Along with part time co-host and guidebook author Craig Romano, she provides practical and timely seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners and potential hikers of all skill and ability levels that is practical, accurate, fun and inclusive. We cover hikes near Seattle and Tacoma as well as hikes all across Washington from the rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula to the Shrub Steppe of Eastern Washington.
Jennie is a middle aged, plus sized, frequently solo slow hiker and a born and raised Washingtonian and has enjoyed Washington's trails her entire life. Craig is a trail runner and ultra marathoner who also loves the mellow walk close to home. Originally from New Hampshire, he has made his home in Washington for more than 30 years. He the author of more than 20 guidebooks covering trails across Washington State and beyond.
The Washington State Hiking Podcast
Best places to Snowshoe in Mt Rainier National Park
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Jennie shares her favorite places to snowshoe in Mt Rainier National Park and important things to know before heading to the park in winter.
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Welcome to The Washington State hiking podcast. I'm your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, and I'm your co host, Craig Romano, Craig and I are happy to have you here. We provide practical and timely, seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners and potential hikers and trail runners of all skill and ability levels that is helpful, accurate, fun and inclusive. Hi everyone. Jennie here, so today we are talking about snowshoeing in Mount Rainier National Park, and we already talked back in December about snowshoeing trails closer to Seattle, and I threw in there a couple in eastern Washington that I really love too. But today we're specifically talking about Mount Rainier National Park and snowshoeing. So if you are doing a winter visit to Mount Rainier National Park that is going to involve snow, so So there are not snow free hikes in the park in the winter, except for at carbon river. So at some point, Craig and I are going to do an episode about that. But just for now, I'll mention, if you are looking for a snow free option, you want to head up along the carbon River, which is on the very infrequently visited northwest corner of the park. All right, so we're talking about snowshoeing today, and I'm going to talk about three different areas in the park that have a very different kind of experience. So the first one is the paradise area at met Rainier and I the so the important thing to know about most of these locations is that you do have to pay the entrance fee to met Rainier, and you can only go up to paradise Friday through Monday. During the winter, it's not open. On the other days, the road is not open. You can still go to Longmire, and you might be able to snowshoe there. The snow might be a little rotten there, but there are some trails in the Longmire area, and you'll have to check with the part to see how snowy they are. You can't really count on them having snow, and you also count count on them being snow free. So that makes those a little challenging to plan for, but Paradise will definitely be snowy. So they when you pay your entrance fee at the fee station, the fee booth, they will give you a map with the winter trails for Paradise. And I think an important thing to know about this is that it's really mostly off trail, right? Like you're you're on deep snow. So the important thing is to be aware of signs that tell you not to go into an area, and that's really important, not only to protect ecosystems where the snow might not be as deep, but also there are some hazard areas around waterfalls and creeks that you can't see in the winter, but you can that can still be Dangerous, so just pay attention to where they tell you you can go and can't, and it does change from time to time. So just follow what the Rangers are saying. And there are restrooms at Paradise when the road is open. So that's really wonderful. The visitor is Visitor Center is open more limited hours, but it is open sometimes as well. So that area, another thing about opening is, if there's been a big storm, they might not have the road open. So you really need to check with the park to confirm the road is open. On the day you're going to go and follow what Rangers tell you, as far as where to go, you have amazing views of the mountain. There really spectacular on a clear day, as well as other mountains in the area. So it's a pretty magical place in the winter. So that's paradise. Then the second location that is a great place to go is the mawich Lake area. Now that is near carbon River. That's you go the same way. So you go through Buckley and carbonado and Wilkeson and go up there. But in when the road forks and you go left to carbon River, which is usually snow free, you go right to head up towards Mowich lake. And in the summer, when that road is open, you can drive all the way to mount Lake. But that's only kind of July, August and September that. That's an option. The rest of the time the road is closed. Now I'm going to tell you that I absolutely love going here on snow shoes. It is so wonderful. However, there are no services. Where exactly the snow starts varies quite a bit. It might not be there where the gate is. It's a long gravel road that's not always in great condition, no cell service, right? So you really need to be prepared for a winter adventure without any kind of support. But if you are, I've had some of my favorite days in Washington in winter, on that closed road going up to mawich lake, there are a couple of marked shortcuts across the road for snowshoes, not as great for skiing. The shortcuts, they're kind of tricky, but they're marked, and you want to stick with the marked ones so you don't get lost. But yeah, it's a it is an awesome place. Sometimes, if you go as far as the lake, you can even use the outhouse. Sometimes that's unlocked. Sometimes, one time I was there in the winter and it had hand sanitizer and toilet paper, and it was just awesome anyway, but I wouldn't count on that, and also, you might not make it that far, so just, you know, be aware of the daylight when you're going to turn around. But it really is an awesome place, and you do, even though there's no fee booth, you do have to pay the entrance fee, so you have to figure that out before you get up there or park further away. And there is a also at the pole peak trailhead, if you can drive that far, which it just depends on where they have it closed. There is a automatic pay machine there. But again, I just wouldn't count on that in the winter time. So get your entrance in advance. All right. Finally, another wonderful place in Mount Rainier National Park in the winter is over on the east side of the park on another closed road, which is highway 410 so to get there, you would take Highway 410 like you were going to the crystal mountain ski area. So that would be through Enumclaw and through green water, and then you get to where the road is closed, there's a gate, and it's right past the left turn that goes up to crystal mountain. So somewhere in there, you'll be able to park. And I have found that it varies quite a bit from year to year. Sometimes there's a plowed parking area there. Sometimes you just kind of park by the gate, so it's a Washington State snow park, so you need a snow park pass to park there. But again, it's not always maintained. That's not always clear, so just make sure you are not parking anywhere. It says no parking and you're not blocking the road, and then you'll be set so there is a great sign there that says, Welcome to Mount Rainier National Park, which is really beautiful and lovely. And then you it's like the big sign over the road on the wooden logs. It's really cool. And you can just walk up the road along the White River. There's no particular destination there. It's a long, long way before you really get to anything. It's just a mellow, peaceful meander through the forest near the river. And it is wonderful quiet nobody there. You will deal with ski traffic until you get there, because of crystal mountain. But it is a very peaceful, wonderful spot. Also no self service, no services of any kind. You've got to be self sufficient. But it is really wonderful. Well, those are the places to snowshoe in, Mount Rainier. All of them are wonderful. Again, I want to just emphasize like we talked about before talking about snow, I'll put all these things in the show notes, checking Washington Trails Association, Trip Reports, weather forecasts, Northwest avalanche center, and also Washington D O T for road conditions. So I hope you have a wonderful time out in the snow. I really want to encourage you to visit Matt Rainier National Park in winter. It's really quite magical. All right, have fun in the snow. Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Washington State hiking podcast. Hey, do
Craig Romano:you have questions for Jennie and I to answer in future episodes? If so, the link right below the tip jar lets you leave a voice memo for us. We'd love to hear from you.
Jennie Flaming:And if you are enjoying this ad free podcast, please help support it by contributing to our tip jar. You don't need an account, and there's no commitment. It's the first link in the show notes. Yes, we also have links in the show notes to our work, both Craig's books, my website, if you would like to support us further. Hey
Craig Romano:again. Thanks again for joining us, and we look forward to the next episode. You.
