Overview
The crown jewel of
Mount Rainier National Park, and of Washington state for that matter, is of course is
Mount Rainier. There are, however, many more peaks that are great to hike and climb surrounding this magnificent volcano. The purpose of this page is to provide a comprehensive list of these peaks, links to their Summitpost pages, and provide links and a summary of general information about Mount Rainier National Park.
Mount Rainier National Park was created on March 2, 1899. In 2012, over 555,000 vehicles and 1.5 million people visited the Park.
The elevations above sea level in Mount Rainier National Park vary from 1,600+ feet where the Ohanapecosh River leaves the Park near the Southeast Entrance to the summit of Mount Rainier at 14,411 feet.
I created this page when I was updating my Summitpost Climber's Log and noticed that there was no parent area/range for Seymour Peak (located south of Chinook Pass) to be attached too. I couldn't believe this considering all but a couple of my other peaks I have submitted logs for have a parent.
Mount Rainier from above Paradise (N.P. Service Photo)
Mount Rainier from Bear Creek Mountain at Sunrise
The Peaks
There are 98 mountains, peak, points, rocks, etc. officially named on USGS quad maps for Mount Rainier National Peak. If I have missed a few which is easy to do in such a big area, please let me know. There are others with unofficial names not named on the maps. These are within quotation marks if I have included them. I omitted ridges and some crests from this list as I tend to like to stick to defined points of some sort.
I have split the list of summits in the Park into regions to help give some reference as to where they are located:
Rainier Proper Region
Points on Mount Rainier itself above 7000 feet.
Northwest Region Sunrise Region - North of the South Puyallup River (flows north) - East of the West Fork White River
- West of the West Fork White River - North of Fryingplan Creek and the White River
Southwest Region Eastside Region
- South of of the South Puyallup River - South of Fryingpan Creek and White River
- North and west of the Nisqually River - East of the Muddy Fork Cowlitz River
- East of the Nisqually River
- North of Paradise Creek and then the Stevens Canyon Road
Tatoosh Range
- East of the Nisqually River
- South of Paradise Creek and then the Stevens Canyon Road
- West of the Muddy Fork Cowlitz River
Rainier Proper Region
| Name | Elevation
(feet)
|
| | Name | Elevation
(feet) |
|
Mount Rainier |
14411 | | |
Anvil Rock |
8584 |
|
Point Success |
14158 | | |
Observation Rock |
8364 |
| Liberty Cap | 14112 | | | Echo Rock | 7870 |
| Gibraltar Rock | 12660 | | | Tokaloo Rock | 7684 |
| Saint Andrews Rock | 11400+ | | | Cowlitz Rocks | 7450 |
|
Little Tahoma Peak |
11138 | | |
Tokaloo Spire |
7420+ |
|
"Muir Peak" |
10188 | | |
Needle Rock |
7400+ |
| Steamboat Prow | 9660+ | | | McClure Rock | 7385 |
| K Spire | 8886 | | |
Meany Crest |
7200+ |
| Mount Ruth | 8690 | | | | |
Getting There
The National Park Service
Directions website describes the Park entrances and how to reach them. A brief summary is provided below:
Rainier Entrance and Vicinity Map National Park Service Map
Six official entrances to the Park:
- Southwest Entrance near Ashford
- Open year-round via SR-706
- Northwest Entrances
- Open year-round via SR-165 through Wilkeson
- Opens in summer and closes by mid-October or first snowfall
- East Entrance (Chinook Pass)
- Open Memorial Day Weekend through late Fall (or as conditions permit) via SR-410
- Open by July 1 through early September or as conditions permit via SR-410
- Southeast
- Open Spring through Fall via SR-123
Red Tape
This is a very popular national park, so expect fees and rules. Not as bad as the Canadian National Parks though.
Fee and Reservation Highlights
As of June 2014
- Entrance Fee for a private, non-commercial vehicle: $15
- Senior and military discounts available
- Mount Rainier Annual Pass: $30
- Private, non-commercial vehicles
$31 per person (21 year or younger)
- Required to climb above 10,000 feet or onto any glaciers.
- Wilderness Permit: Free
- Wilderness Permit: Free (first-come-first-served - 30% of permits)
$20 (reservation for group - 70% of permits)
- Required for overnight backcountry trips.
- Not required for day hiking.
- Obtain permits are ranger stations.
- The National Park Service recommends making reservations for backcountry camping.
- The Park starts accepting reservations by fax and mail on March 15th each year.
- Reservation can also be made in-person at the Longmire Wilderness Information Center which opens to the public in late May)
- Reservations for popular campsites along the Wonderland Trail fill up fast.
- It is often not possible after late spring to reserve necessary campsites to complete the entire 90-mile loop for the early July to end of September time period.
- Required for overnight backcountry trips, not required for day hiking.
- Many things (e.g. fires, pets, bicycles) are prohibited.
- Follow Leave No Trace principles
Camping
Four campgrounds are located within Mount Rainier National Park:
Paradise Glacier Moraine Winter Campsite at sunrise - Feb. 2005 - Cougar Rock
- Ohanapecosh
- White River
- Mowich Lake
U.S. Forest Service Campgrounds are also available outside of Mount Rainier National Park
Designated backcountry camping areas (41 total) are located along trails throughout the Park.
- A
Wilderness Permit is required for overnight camping and reservations ($20 fee) is recommended in many areas.
- Backcountry off trail zone camping is also available.
Private camping and lodging outside the Park: