The Wonderland Trail is a 93 mile trail that circumnavigates Mt. Rainier (Tahoma) in Mt. Rainier National Park. It passes through several diverse ecosystems, such as lush, old-growth forests and fragile alpine meadows. The most popular time to hike the trail is August, once the snow has melted and before the rain arrives in the fall. Many people are also able to thru-hike the trail in July and September, but conditions may be a little less ideal during those months, depending on the year.
I have wanted to hike the trail since I first learned about it last summer. I am obsessed with Mt. Rainier, so the idea of hiking around her and seeing her every side sounded like paradise to me.
Permits
The first challenge that one will have to face during a Wonderland Trail attempt is getting a permit. Permits are required at all backcountry campgrounds in Mt. Rainier National Park, and there are a limited number of sites at each campground. There are two ways to get a permit: online through a lottery system or getting a walkup permit.
Lottery System
As of 2021, the lottery through Recreation.gov opens in early March. If you are hiking with a group, you can increase your chances of success by having everyone in your group enter the lottery. Those who win the lottery are given a time during late March and early April during which they can go into Recreation.gov and reserve their campgrounds and dates. Just because someone wins the lottery does not mean they are guaranteed a full Wonderland Trail itinerary. If you are awarded a time in April, there may not be campsite availability left when your selection time arrives.
I was lucky to get a permit through the lottery system. I planned on hiking part of the trail with my friend and the other part with my boyfriend (neither of them wanted to spend a full 9 days on trail with me, haha), so all three of us entered the lottery. My friend and I were completely unsuccessful in the lottery, but my boyfriend was awarded a selection time fairly early in the selection window. Since he wasn’t going to be with me for the entire trail, we put my name on the permit as the alternate permit holder.
Permits can be picked up at the White River Ranger Station (as well as other locations)
Walkup Permit
Only two-thirds (2/3) of the campsites can be reserved in the lottery. The remaining one-third (1/3) are saved for walk ups during the season. To get a walkup permit, you must go to a Wilderness Information Center (WIC) in the park the day before or the day you wish to start. The park rangers will then try to help you build an itinerary with what campsites are still available for the days you wish to be on trail. I’ve heard that arriving at a WIC early in the morning the day BEFORE you wish to start the trail will give you the best chance.
Be Flexible
Both of the methods above require flexibility if you really want a permit. Even if you win the lottery, your ideal dates and campgrounds may not be available. You may need to hike a little later in the year or stay at different campgrounds than you originally wanted. You may need to hike the trail in fewer days. There are a few other trails in the park such as the Northern or East Side loop that run parallel to the Wonderland Trail. They may not be part of the official Wonderland Trail, but they will still allow you to circumvent the mountain. Even though my boyfriend was awarded an early selection time in the lottery, I had to reserve one night at a campground that is a mile off the official Wonderland Trail (Olallie Creek) to make the full loop work for our preferred dates.
Trailheads
There are five main trailheads from which to start or end a Wonderland Trail thru-hike. The most popular is Longmire at the southwest corner of the park. Longmire has a WIC and a lodge that some people chose to stay at the night before they start their hike.
The second and third most popular trailheads are on the same road in the northeast: Sunrise and White River Campground. Sunrise is not technically on the Wonderland Trail, but it can be reached by taking a side trail for half a mile. White River Campground is a car campground below Sunrise that is on the Wonderland Trail, no detour needed. There is also a WIC nearby from which you can pick up your permit.
Trailhead at White River
Mowich Lake is located in the northwest corner of the park and like White River, is a car campground. It is less developed than White River and there is no WIC or Ranger Station nearby. The closest ranger station is Carbon River Ranger Station to the north. Unlike Longmire, White River, and Sunrise, which are all accessible via paved roads, those wishing to start at Mowich Lake must drive up a long, dirt road.
Finally, the least popular trailhead is Box Canyon in the southeast corner of the park. There is no WIC or campground at Box Canyon, only a parking lot and a picnic area.
Campgrounds
All the campgrounds are clearly marked and have anywhere from two to seven “individual sites” for groups of five people or less. Most of the camps also have “group sites” for groups of six to twelve people. All of the campsites are relatively flat and the individual sites are large enough for two “2 person” tents.
There are also bear poles at each campground where you can hang your food at night. There is a tool hooked on each pole that allows you to raise and lower your bag. I used a 20L dry bag which worked well with the tool and on the bear poles.
My campsite at Devil’s Dream
All of the camps have a water source nearby. Unfortunately, some of the sources are up to a mile away from camp. Unless you want to backtrack, sometimes it is wise to fill up on water before you get to camp. I have a Wonderland Trail map downloaded on an app called Guthook which has water sources marked on it. Some streams are so small they are not included on my main navigation app, Gaia GPS, but they would usually be marked on the Guthook map.
Spray Park Alternate
In the northwest corner of the park, the official Wonderland Trail goes over Ipsut Pass before descending into the Carbon River valley. This part of the trail is very green and lush with lots of old forest growth. There is another trail, called the Spray Park Trail that goes up and over the alpine areas of Spray and Seattle Parks before dropping down to the Carbon River. Many people chose to take the Spray Park alternate since the wildflowers and views of Mt. Rainier are supposed to be amazing in this area. Even though I took the Spray Park alternate, the day I hiked through that area, it was drizzling and socked in with clouds. I did talk to a lot of other hikers who said that Spray Park is one of their favorite parts of the trail.
One of the few views I got while descending into Seattle Park
Food Caches
Food is heavy. Thankfully, there are locations at which to cache food in the park so you do not need to carry enough food for the entire trip at once. Food caches are held at Longmire, White River Campground, Sunrise, and Mowich Lake. All food that you wish to cache must be stored in a plastic container for rodent prevention. Caches can be sent to the park through the mail or you can hand deliver them if you are local to the area. Since I started at White River Campground, I had a cache delivered to Longmire and my boyfriend dropped off another at Mowich Lake. More information on food caches can be found on the park’s website.
Trail through the Cowlitz Divide
My Itinerary
I originally planned to do the Wonderland Trail in 9 days/8 nights, so that I would average about 10 miles per day. Below is the itinerary I secured through the early lottery system:
- Day 1: White River Campground -> Summerland
- Day 2: Summerland -> Olallie Creek
- Day 3: Olallie Creek -> Paradise River
- Day 4: Paradise River -> Devil’s Dream
- Day 5: Devil’s Dream -> North Puyallup River
- Day 6: North Puyallup River -> South Mowich River
- Day 7: South Mowich River -> Cataract Valley
- Day 8: Cataract Valley -> Mystic Camp
- Day 9: Mystic Camp -> White River Campground
When I picked up my permit on my first day, I asked if I could get a walkup site for Granite Creek for the last night. Mystic Camp is about 12 miles away from White River while Granite Creek is only 6.5 miles from White River. I thought a shorter last day would allow me to get home sooner. There was still walk up availability at Granite Creek for that night, so the ranger was able to modify my permit. As it happened, I actually ended up hiking all the way from Cataract Valley to White River on Day 8 (a little under 19 miles) in order to get home because the weather wasn’t great for the last few days of my trip. So much for a short last day.
I wish I could have stayed at Klapatche Park to enjoy this view longer
Overall, I really liked my itinerary. If I were to do it again, I would try to avoid Paradise River (the campsite is kind of a mess – lots of broken tree branches everywhere). I would love to stay at Klapatche Park since it has a great view of Mt. Rainier from the camp. I did really enjoy staying at Summerland and Cataract Valley. Granite Creek also looked lovely when I hiked through it on my last day.
Planning Resources
One of the resources that was helpful to me was Tami Asars’ book, Hiking the Wonderland Trail. Asars does a great job of highlighting the specific sections of trail and giving the reader an idea of what to expect on trail.
I used the Itinerary Planner on the Hiking Tahoma website to plan out several possible itineraries. This site calculates the distance between camps and was incredibly helpful.
There are a lot of logistics to coordinate when planning to hike the Wonderland Trail. It was definitely a little overwhelming at first, but as I did more research, it became easier to understand and I was able to make decisions. There is a lot to think about for this trail, but it is worth it!
Wildflowers near Summerland
