Category: Day Hikes (Page 11 of 12)

The Skyline Trail out of Paradise at MRNP is the classic dayhike at Mt. Rainier. Granted, it’s packed with tourists all summer, but it’s so gorgeous it’s worth the crowds, especially in the height of wildflower blooming season (these photos were taken in mid-August). Even then, on some years you can expect to cross some snow at the top near Panorama Point. Great views of Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens along the trail too.  Did I mention the over-abundance of wildflowers?  Sensory overload, in a good way…

Above Longmire at Mt. Rainier, there is a nice little hike from Narada Falls up to Reflection Lake and back down on the Lakes Trail. August is usually prime wildflower season. If it’s waterfalls you’re looking for, this is a great trail!

The Naches Loop off of Hwy 410 at Chinook Pass has to be my absolutely favorite fall hike for colors. It’s an easy 3-mile loop around Naches Peak, great for beginners, or for rehabbing knees after surgery. In October it lights up like a Christmas tree with fall colors. This is one of my yearly pilgrimages…  Too bad the road is closed for winter, or I’d be up there snowshoeing too.

I went through Ape Cave on the south side of Mt. St. Helens when I was a teenager and loved it… then I got to take my kids and DH through it too 🙂  It’s a 2-mile long lava tunnel, pitch dark, full of huge boulders to be scrambled over, and definitely not for the claustrophobic!  I need to do this again… when I took K&T through it was recently after a knee surgery and I didn’t have all of my leg strength back, which does come in handy when scrambling over boulders the size of cars.

Babysitting my four-legged niece and nephew in Oregon has perks, namely hiking through some gorgeous scenery. I dropped Tori off at Timberline Lodge with $20 and her current book at the time, I think Homer’s Odyssey, and I headed out the Timberline Trail (part of the PCT) for a nice day hike.

It was pretty dusty compared to what I’m used to around here, but still a gorgeous trail. I have to say, after spending so much time around Rainier, Mt. Hood looks pretty tiny, though I know it’s not. Some day I’d love to hike the entire Timberline Trail… maybe next year.

A nice and easy lower-elevation hike out of Greenwater, WA, to two lakes, along a gorgeous river with some very well-built bridges. The best part of this hike is the native hardy terrestrial Calypso orchids when they’re in bloom. They look like they belong in a tropical rainforest, not the PNW.

Eunice Lake is one of my favorite lunch spots on the planet (besides Skyscraper Pass). From the road up to Mowich Lake you can see the cliffs, but would never dream that there’s a big, gorgeous lake up there waiting for a picnic. At the right time of year, you can be sure to donate several pints of blood to the local ‘skeeters, but other than that, it’s a beautiful little dayhike to a magical spot…