UPWC-Chinook Pass

Description:

This 32 mile long loop begins at Chinook Pass on Highway 410. Choose between heading east towards Dewey Lake and then south to Anderson Lake, turning west on the Three Lakes Trail along Laughingwater Creek and then north near Silver Falls to follow the Ohanepecosh River along the Eastside Trail back to Chinook Pass OR doing the loop in the reverse direction, by following the Chinook Creek south, first. This is in the east side of the Mt. Rainier National Park and follows the Pacific Crest Trail for a stretch. East of the main Wonderland trail that encircles the mountain, this loop isn’t as commonly explored. When you look at the Rainier map, though, the loop is obvious and just calls your name. This scenic loop offers a little bit of everything from rocky, high alpine country covered with wildflowers; to soft forested single track, cruisy and easily runnable; to virgin old growth forest along the delightful Ohanepecosh River, with wooden bridges, large boulders and both rapids and gently flowing bends.