This snowshoe route from Mt Rainier National Park's Paradise Ranger Station avoids avalanche terrain by taking the closed-in-winter Paradise Valley Road down to the 4th Crossing Trail, then ascending our organization's eponymous ridge to a close-up viewpoint of Mt Rainier and--on beautiful winter days--views of the Tatoosh Range and volcanoes to the south. Every vehicle needs a U.S. national park pass and must carry chains, with AWD vehicles preferred.

Activity Notes

Intermediate 1-night winter camping at Mazama Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park. We'll snowshoe from Paradise to Mazama Ridge, set up camp, explore the area as time/conditions allow, then return the following day. Prior backpacking and winter camping experience is preferred. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mazama-ridge

Meeting Place & Time: Mount Rainier NP - Longmire parking lot at 9:00 AM, Saturday Jan 18th or Sunday Jan 19th, 2025 over MLK weekend. This will only be a 1-night trip. We will pick which day to start for the best weather window closer to the weekend.

Route: From Paradise parking lot, we'll head down Valley Road, up 4th Crossing Trail, and camp along Mazama Ridge. The next day, we’ll either retrace our steps  (4 miles, 1100 total gain) or continue south on Mazama Ridge, west on High Lakes Trail, down to Reflection Lakes, and back to Paradise (6 miles, 1500 total gain). We can choose to camp at Reflection Lakes if conditions on the ridge are not ideal.

Pace: Moderate. Participants should have a good fitness base.

Weather: Expect varied winter conditions. Bring winter-capable shelter, stove, water treatment, and clothing. Chains are required for all vehicles.

Other Information
Driving Distance from Portland 156 miles
Driving Time from Portland 3 hours
Distance - Round Trip 3 miles
Interesting Features Mountain Views
Relevant Books Snowshoe Routes Washington, 3rd Edition
Useful Links Map New Window Icon Icon two stacked browser windows.
FIND AN UPCOMING ACTIVITY ON THE Calendar