Burrough mountain trail offers spectacular view of Mt Rainier and Emmons Glacier. We do make sure to get couple of trails in the Mt Rainier area every year, and we like to share our pictures and memories from each of our hikes. This one is from a summer starter hike in July couple of days after the road opened till Sunrise visitor center. Snow had almost melted but please check the trail conditions with rangers before heading out. We had to use our microspikes to cross some steep snowfields while crossing the mountain slopes. Something like the Kahtoola MICROspikes Footwear Traction are essential for trails like these.

We reached the trail head around 3 p.m and checked the trail status with rangers. They did mention that some of the mountains slopes are passable with spikes and poles and asked us to use extra caution as a fall could turn out to be pretty nasty.

So we decided to take the loop in clockwise direction, having done both directions our preference is to do the clockwise loop that allows us to hike up with views of the mountain.

Hike Trail Path/Map

Our trail path and various view points

You will see lot of people headed anticlockwise above the visitor center and that is the sourdough ridge trail but we are going clockwise in this journal. Walk in opposite direction to the restaurant lodge and cross the parking lot and you will see trail markings for shadow lake, sunrise rim trail and burrough mountains trail. You will see a paved road, but don’t take that and try to stick with the directions on trailhead markers. A map from ranger would also help to align the different small trails that fans out.

This hike starts out easy as the trail meanders through the sub-alpine trees and small meadows. You will see the entire goat mountain and view of Rainier as you start on the trail.

You will be tempted to click lot of pictures, but you have better views ahead, in case you are going up till the Burroughs or at least make it till the Glacier overlook(a small uphill hike after shadow lake). At around 1.3 miles you will arrive at Shadow lake, a small alpine lake with trail surrounding it. You can see the Sourdough Ridge trail from here that cuts it.

Some people make this as the destination but our recommendation is take that trail head towards Burrough mountains and one section of after the initial small mountain slope(below picture is a photo of looking down the slope), you will be rewarded to one of the most photogenic spots in the park.

So the trail continues on a moderate incline to a very scenic point of interest called Glacier Overlook. The view from here are dramatic, breathtaking and awe inspiring.

The Emmons Glacier can be viewed in its entirety as it separates Little Tahoma Peak from the Mountain itself.

White River originates from here and makes its way down the mountains, through the valleys, to Puget Sound.

You will also see small lakes around the moraine with pretty sea foam green color. The color changes with sun light and it is caused from the sun reflecting off glacial sediment suspended in the water. Even though Rainier is the star attraction spend some time here and enjoy the view around you before heading up the burrough mountain trail or heading down back to parking lot.

After the overlook the trail starts becoming steeper and tree lines start to recede and you will start seeing tundra like vegetation for rest of the journey up the mountain. The path beneath your feet turns from silty sand to uneven rock.

Hike with care in this area to protect not only the fragile landscape and always be watchful of surroundings as you are hiking through the mountain slopes.

Before actually arriving at the top of 1st Burroughs, where the trail finally flattens out, there is a nice spot with small trees and big rocks. Use this as lunch stop or head to the 2nd Burroughs Mountain.

From the top of 1st Burroughs you can continue on to the top of 2nd Burroughs, an additional 400 ft in elevation (.6 miles). This gets you closer to the Mountain with a less obstructed view. We did try going up the 2nd Burrough but then the cloud rolling made it very poor visibility, so we decided to head back down to parking lot.

We decided to do the loop anyway, so we took the Sourdough ridge trail back via the Frozen lake. It was hazy and visibility was poor all the way till our parking lot. There were lot of snow fields to cross to make it till the parking lot and we were happy that we had microspike, especially while crossing the .7 mile from first burrough mountain down to frozen lake. Few of the sections were steep ice and it would have been difficult without spike/pole, so please check the conditions before you head out to these trails. It normally melts out in couple of weeks, but since we were early in the season, we had to take precautions.

We were back at parking lot at around 7 p.m, so it was like a 4 hour roundtrip with enough time to enjoy the trail and photo stops.

We will be back for more hikes, but we were pretty glad with the summer season opening hike in Mt Rainier sunrise area.

TIP:

• Our recommendation is to do clockwise loop, we found it easier and you hike with mountain views.

• Wear good hiking boots, as the floor has chiselled rocks and your foot will thank you for a pair of good hiking boots. We like the Merrell Moab 3 Waterproof for rocky terrain like this.

• It is pretty much exposed on top with no shade, so get a cap and carry sunscreen; keep yourself hydrated. A Sunday Afternoons Adventure Hat works great for sun protection on exposed trails.

• Stay off the meadows, we have seen lot of people stepping onto the meadows as well as fragile tundra vegetation, please be mindful hiker.

• Read and learn about the tundra vegetation and why it needs to be preserved and taken care of.

• If you are headed only till Shadow lake, take that one more modest incline slope till Glacier overlook and trust us, it is worth it.

Hiking guides

We always look at the weather and latest trip reports from below sites to plan our hikes. We do read other personal blogs to read about view points, photographic locations on a trail etc.

• www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/natches-peak-loop.htm
• https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/naches-peak-loop
• https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/naches-peak-loop-trail

Travel Tips

• Buy America the Beautiful Annual Pass, if you are planning to visit more than 4 national parks in a year
• Make sure your park pass is displayed clearly.