@patoutside
a Rainier day-hike weekend, stop by stop
8 items
- 01Skyline Trail (Paradise)
- 02Naches Peak Loop (Tipsoo Lake, off Chinook Pass)
- 03Comet Falls (Christine Falls trailhead)
- ··5 more entries
15900
trailhead intel Google Maps doesn't have
which lot fills by 6am, which pass you actually need, when the lottery window opens. updating as I learn things the hard way
01
Paradise lot (Mount Rainier)
full by 9am on summer weekends, no overflow, they will turn you away at the gate
02
Sunrise lot (Mount Rainier)
smaller than Paradise, fills earlier some weekends, road doesn't open till around July depending on snow
03
Enchantments Core Zone lottery
applications go in Feb 15 through Mar 1, three ranked picks. success rate is something like 3-5 percent, don't plan a whole trip around it
04
Enchantments walk-up permits
Leavenworth Ranger Station releases some weekly, and you need a smartphone now to apply on site
05
Mount Si / Tiger Mountain trailheads
these are DNR land, a Northwest Forest Pass does nothing here, you need a Discover Pass
06
Most Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest trailheads
Northwest Forest Pass, not Discover Pass. opposite of Si/Tiger and people mix this up constantly
07
I-90 corridor lake trailheads (Snow Lake, Talapus)
08
Twin Falls / Squak Mountain
state parks, Discover Pass again
09
Chinook Pass (Naches Peak Loop lot)
maybe 20 spots total, it's a wash by 9am
10
Any trailhead the day after fresh Cascades snow
check NWAC before you drive up, road conditions lag the actual snowpack by a day
11
Ranger station phone lines, generally
the recorded message gets updated more often than the website, worth the call