Wonderland Trail
The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile loop circumnavigating Mount Rainier inside Mount Rainier National Park, climbing through old-growth forest, river valleys, and alpine meadows with roughly 27,000 feet...
OpenStreetMap (curated relation)
- Length
- 85.5 mi
- Thru-hike
- 10–14 days
- Elev. gain
- 105 ft
- States
- 1
About the route
The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile loop circumnavigating Mount Rainier inside Mount Rainier National Park, climbing through old-growth forest, river valleys, and alpine meadows with roughly 27,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain (per NPS). Typically snow-free mid-July through October.
Permits
A wilderness permit is required year-round for every overnight stay, and full-loop hikers must use designated camps only. About two thirds of summer permits are reservable on Recreation.gov: Wonderland hikers are encouraged to enter the early-access lottery (opens each February); general on-sale starts April 25 for dates June 1 to October 10. The other third are walk-up permits, issued in person at a Wilderness Information Center no more than one day before your start. Reservations must be activated in person; no-shows by 12:00 pm are canceled.
- Permit information and applications (opens in new tab)
- Mount Rainier Wilderness and Climbing Permits on Recreation.gov (opens in new tab)National Park Service (Recreation.gov)
- Mount Rainier National Park (NPS) (opens in new tab)
Outdoors is not the permitting authority. Confirm current application windows and requirements with the issuing agency.
Trailhead
Common start
Longmire (common start)
46.7494, -121.8092
Verified waypoints
7 totalCategories hidden on the map fold here too.
Route markers1 waypoints
Water & camping4 waypoints
Views2 waypoints
Official sources
- Mount Rainier National Park (NPS) (opens in new tab)
- Wilderness Permit Frequently Asked Questions (opens in new tab)National Park Service
- Caching Food and Fuel (opens in new tab)National Park Service
- Wonderland Trail brochure (PDF) (opens in new tab)National Park Service
- Geohazards (opens in new tab)National Park Service
- Wilderness Guidelines and Regulations (opens in new tab)National Park Service
- Wikipedia article (opens in new tab)
Last verified by us: 2026-09-25
Outdoors is not the permitting authority. Reconfirm alerts, permits, and closures with the agency before you go.
Contact the agencies
Longmire Wilderness Information Center, Mount Rainier NP
National Park Service — Mount Rainier National Park
(360) 569-6650White River Wilderness Information Center, Mount Rainier NP
National Park Service — Mount Rainier National Park
(360) 569-6670Paradise Wilderness Information Center / Guide House, Mount Rainier NP
National Park Service — Mount Rainier National Park
(360) 569-6641Carbon River Ranger Station, Mount Rainier NP
National Park Service — Mount Rainier National Park
(360) 569-6624Mount Rainier National Park Headquarters
National Park Service — Mount Rainier National Park
360-569-221155210 238th Avenue East Ashford, WA 98304
Best seasons
Hazards
- Lingering snow (ice axe and navigation skills early season)
- Fords of glacier-fed rivers
- Debris flows and glacial outburst floods
- Rockfall
- Large daily elevation gain and loss
- Wildfire closures
Highlights
- Longmire
- Indian Henry's Hunting Ground
- Klapatche Park
- Golden Lakes
- Spray Park
- Carbon River
- Summerland
- Indian Bar
States traversed
Editor's note
OSM does not have a parent relation; geometry will require manual curation or GPX import.