Wonderland Trail

The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile loop around the base of Mt. Rainier in Washington State. It can be completed in 7-10 days.

Region: Pacific West (Mount Rainier National Park, Washington)
Length: 93 miles (7-10 days)

Wonderland Trail GPX File Download

Physical Difficulty: Moderate

Each day the average hiker gains and loses 3,000 to 6,000 feet of elevation.
Weather can be cool and rainy, even in summer months.
Trail is well-marked and highly trafficked, requiring no bushwhacking and very little route-finding.

Logistical Difficulty: Difficult

Permits required, awarded on lottery system. National Park Service page here.
Itinerary (including daily mileage and nightly campsites) must be locked in during permit process.
A loop hike with multiple access points.

Season: Summer/Early Fall

Elevation (Average): ~4625
Total Elevation Gain: 29,700

Days to Complete

Miles / Day (average)	Days to complete (rounded up)
8	12
10	10
12	8
14	7
16	6
18	6
20	5
22	5
24	4

How to Get to the Wonderland Trail

Nearest Major City: Tacoma, Washington (66 miles)

The Wonderland Trail has access points within a two-hour drive of several major cities in Washington state, including Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. Because it’s a loop, you can start and end the trail from almost anywhere, but the most common starting point is Longmire. Longmire has plenty of parking and is heavily trafficked, so your car will be just fine there. Longmire also has the National Park Inn and several nearby restaurants (within 30 minutes).

Hiking the Wonderland Trail

The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile loop around the base of Mount Rainier in Washington state. An active volcano topping out at 14,411 feet, Mount Rainier rises dramatically from the surrounding Cascade Range. Don’t worry—it last erupted in 1854. Perpetually snowcapped, Rainier is a premier American mountaineering destination. But you won’t be going anywhere near the top.

We’ve heard the Wonderland Trail described as “the best first thru-hike.” While the daily elevation gain and loss can be dramatic (and strenuous), the trail’s high point is at a relatively mild 6,750 feet—enough to feel some elevation, but not enough to cause dramatic altitude sickness in the average backpacker.

A rigorous permitting process locks you into certain established mileages and campsites, and this can be aggravating to backpackers used to a more freewheeling style. But knowing you’ve got a reserved campsite (complete with bear-proof food storage) waiting for you can be a relief on such a heavily trafficked trail. And this isn’t a hike you want to rush. The views along every step of the Wonderland Trail are second to none.

This is a trail to be savored. The National Park Service allows up to 14 days to finish the trail, but even a relatively slow pace of ten miles a day will see you complete the trail within ten days. The Wonderland Trail is famous for its glaciers, waterfalls, wildflowers, and varied terrain, so take your time and enjoy yourself!

When to Hike the Wonderland Trail

Summer and fall are the best times to hike the Wonderland Trail. Spring and winter are too snowy to backpack.

You can expect temperatures in summer to be in the mid-to-high 70s during the day and in the high 40s overnight. That’s decent walking weather and great sleeping weather! But in the summer you’ll be fighting lots of day hikers for trail space. More people apply for permits in the summer, so you’ll have a lower chance of receiving your desired itinerary/campsites if you manage to snag a permit at all (some people wait several years before winning the permit lottery). The trail is particularly crowded in August—so if you want to miss some of the crowds but make use of long days and warm temperatures, then aim for July. July is the driest month around Mount Rainier, so you won’t be fighting rain very often if that’s when you choose to hike.

If you wait until school gets back into session (i.e., after Labor Day), you have several advantages. Although demand for Wonderland Trail permits continues to rise yearly, significantly fewer people apply for permits for mid-September and onward. Although permits are processed in random order, if you aren’t having to fight the summer crowds for space, you have a better chance of locking in your desired trip even if your permit is processed later in the queue.

The daily temperatures drop significantly in the early fall, down into the 60s (or high 50s, depending on weather and elevation.) Overnight lows will dip into the low 40s or possibly high 30s, again depending on weather and elevation.

Wonderland Trail Terrain

Terrain on the Wonderland Trail is varied but subalpine. You’ll be walking through a lot of forests, meadows, and over creeks. It certainly isn’t technical, and you should be just fine wearing whatever footwear you usually hike in. In the early summer you may be walking over compacted snow with paths worn by other hikers.

Logistics: Permits, Camping, Water

Permits: Permits are a must if you are going to backpack the Wonderland Trail. Because the Wonderland Trail is so, well, wonderful, there’s a lot of demand for permits, with more growing every year. The NPS has recently changed the way they handle this system, so pay close attention here! This information applies to people seeking permits during the peak season of June 1st – Sept 30th.

Between March 2nd and March 14th there is an application period for the early access lottery. You’ll need a recreation.gov account to participate in this lottery. Follow this link to the page for Mount Rainier National Park Wilderness and Climbing permits.

On the right-hand side of the page, you’ll see a button (highlighted in blue) that says “Register for Open Lottery.” Clicking this button will prompt you to log in to your recreation.gov account. From there, simply put in your payment information (this part of the process costs $6) and you will be entered into the lottery.

If you strike lucky, you’ll be notified via email on March 17th with your assigned Early Access Period window. During this window (which will be somewhere between March 22nd and April 21st) you’ll be able to log in to your recreation.gov account to see real-time campsite availability and make your reservation. If, say, your Early Access Period window is on March 27th, you’ll be able to make your reservation any time between then and April 21st. But we recommend making your reservation as soon as possible after your window opens. These slots will go fast! Completing your reservation will cost an additional $20.

If you aren’t lucky enough to get into the Early Access Lottery, you’ll have to wait for the General On-Sale period, which begins on April 27th. On this date (starting at 7 AM PT), login to recreation.gov and search for “Mount Rainier National Park Wilderness and Climbing Permits.” At this point, you’ll be able to view campsite availability in real-time and book your trip. It’s smart to have several backup itineraries planned so you don’t waste time scrambling for a plan B (and possibly lose your shot to someone who’s planned better than you.)

We recommend a few resources to help you out with this. The first is the Plan Your Visit page on the National Park Service’s website. It gives you each camp’s name and elevation. From there you can use a mapping application like Caltopo to plan the distance between each camp and make intelligent choices before you submit your permit request.

Another option is to use a third party trip planning website. We like this—Itinerary Planner from Wonderland Guides.

If you don’t snag a permit and don’t mind traveling to Rainier anyway, you still have a chance to hike the Wonderland Trail (albeit a small one). Roughly 30% of the permits are reserved for walk-ups—but note that the chances of this working out for you are fairly slim, particularly if you want any say in where you camp each night. It’s perhaps better to just try again next year.

Note that even with a permit, you’ll still need to visit one of Rainier’s Wilderness Information Centers on the day of or day before the start of your trip in order to register.

Here’s a PDF that summarizes all this information!

Land Designation Restrictions: The Wonderland Trail exists entirely within the boundaries of Mount Rainier National Park. The national park designation comes with a lot of restrictions: namely no pets on trails and no drones. Sorry influencers and dog-lovers—you’ll have to go without on the Wonderland Trail.

Firearms are allowed in the park, but no hunting (and certain buildings inside the park restrict firearms).

Campfires are allowed in the park only at established rings—and only if you bring your wood (buy local to avoid spreading invasive pests). Collecting firewood is not allowed.

A license is not required to fish in the park, but there are some restrictions. Check them out here.

Although marijuana is legal in Washington state, it is not allowed within the boundaries of Mount Rainier National Park and is punishable with a hefty fine.

Water: Water is plentiful on the Wonderland Trail. But be careful if you are using a filter. The fine glacial silt present in many of Mount Rainier’s streams can clog hollow-fiber filters (like products from Sawyer, MSR, and Katadyn) easily. Be sure the water you are treating is clear and not cloudy or silty.

Food and Fuel Caching: The average completion time for the Wonderland Trail is ten days. Even if you take less time than that, you might want to think about caching your food so you don’t have to carry 20 pounds of food all the way around the mountain!

There’s a lot to know about caching food for the Wonderland Trail. We recommend a careful read of this page from the National Park Service. But here are a few salient points to remember:

You can cache food in secure locations around the trail either by mailing or hand-delivering.
Food cache must be packaged in a plastic container.
Fuel cannot be stored in the food cache—you have to store it separately (and you can’t send fuel through the mail, you must hand-deliver it).

Food must arrive at your caching location two weeks before your hike will begin.

Know Before You Go

Difficult Permitting Process: Don’t bank on this being your trip until you’ve locked in your permit. It’s lottery style, so have a backup plan. On top of that, the locked-in style might annoy backpackers used to a more relaxed hiking style.

Daily Elevation Changes: The ups and downs on the Wonderland Trail can be strenuous. Pack a range of clothing/sleep systems to handle the varying temperatures as your altitude fluctuates.

Gear: You don’t need any special gear to hike the Wonderland Trail. It’s a well-marked, well-maintained, heavily trafficked trail in a temperate climate. But as we’ve mentioned a few times, there’s a lot of elevation gain and loss, which means one night you might be camping at 2,000 feet, and the next at 5,000. Depending on the season, that could be as much as a ten-to-15 degree temperature difference from night-to-night. So plan your clothing and sleep systems accordingly.

Carefully Read the Food Caching Procedures: If hand-delivering, give yourself extra travel time to reach your cache location the day before your hike begins. If mailing, make sure your cache arrives at least two weeks before your hike begins to allow rangers time to get it set up for you.

Might Get Rainy in Mid-September/Early October : Plan accordingly.

It’s a National Park: Expect some crowds and some land use designation-related restrictions. Make sure you read over the rules. Also, keep in mind that cell service in the park is extremely limited.