I’ve always looked down on Grand Park from the upper trails, Mt. Fremont and Skyscraper Pass, and I hiked out once in a round-about-sort-of-way that was beautiful, but didn’t afford the huge, jaw-dropping views that you get when coming in via Lake Eleanor. Time to fix that, and I’ve been out twice now in the last week.
The trail starts from a Forest Service road, and gently takes you to Lake Eleanor in just under a mile. There is a nice MRNP camp here, and the lake itself is beautiful. From the lake, it’s a fairly easy trail through forest for another 2 miles to the beginning of Grand Park. Once in Grand Park itself, you can wander for several miles through this huge meadow, with amazing views of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Fremont, Skyscraper Mountain, and Willis Wall. Wildflowers up here must be amazing at the right time of year, but with that of course are the mosquitoes and flies, which I’ve heard can be fierce. The only downside of Grand Park is that at this time of year there is no water anywhere near, which means you have to carry in plenty for the trip.
This is the kind of hike where you want to bring a chair or hammock, plan on spending the day wandering the meadow, exploring, taking in the incredible views, and not being in a hurry.
