Mt. Fremont Lookout, WA

Vicinity Location:
About 58 miles southeast of Seattle, WA in Mt. Rainier National Park.

Directions:
From Seattle: Follow I-5 South for 25 miles and take exit 142A to merge onto WA Highway 18 East toward North Bend/Auburn. Drive 4.4 miles and take the Auburn Way/WA Highway 164 East exit toward Enumclaw for 0.2 mile.

Make a slight right at 6th St SE then turn left at Auburn Way S/C St SE/WA Highway 164.
Continue to follow WA Highway 164 for 14.7 miles then turn left at Roosevelt Ave E/WA Highway 410.

Continue to follow WA Highway 410 for 37.3 miles.
Make a slight right at Sunrise Park Rd and follow it for 15.0 miles.

From Portland: Take I-5 North towards Seattle and drive for about 75 miles.
Take exit 68 for US-12 East. At the top of the off ramp, turn right onto US-12 and travel about 71.8 miles. This takes you past Morton and through Packwood.

Make a slight left onto WA Highway 123, driving for 16.1 miles. This road is seasonally closed. Continue straight onto WA Highway 410 for 3.5 miles.

Make a sharp left onto Sunrise Park Rd and follow the road for 15 miles to the Sunrise Visitors Center.

The road to Sunrise is usually only open from July through September.

There are bathrooms and water at the trailhead.

Pets are not allowed on the trails in National Parks.

A permit is needed to park.

Trail:
Sourdough Ridge Trail, Wonderland Trail, and Mt. Fremont Trail with connections to Huckleberry Creek Trail, Burroughs Mountain Trail, Northern Loop Trail, and various other trails.

Trail Maps:
Topo Map, National Park Service Map,  Download Garmin .gpx file

Length and Elevation:
5.5 miles round trip. Elevation gain of 1,200 feet and loss of 30 feet to Mt. Fremont. Elevation gain of 1,230 feet and loss of 1,230 feet roundtrip. Elevation at the trailhead at 6,400 feet, highest point is at 7,180 feet. Lowest elevation is 6,400 feet.

Review: August 23, 2009.
Park at the Sunrise Visitors Center and perhaps take in the exhibits at the Visitors Center.

For a great view of Mt. Rainier, consider hiking the trail to the Fremont lookout. The lookout has been restored after storms blew off the roof and broke windows.

Start from the Sunrise parking lot, walk up the paved road and after a short distance, turn right and walk up the wide gravel trail. Enjoy looking at the hordes of people as you head uphill about .1 mile and turn left at the Y-junction to Sourdough Ridge Trail.
 
After about .75 mile, the trail levels off and actually drops down a bit. Continue on the dusty trail, crossing a large scree field but the trail is well maintained and fairly wide. Follow the signs west towards Frozen Lake, passing the junction with the Huckleberry Creek Trail.

At Frozen Lake, 1.4 miles from the trailhead, turn right at the 5-way junction and continue walking around the lake. Start looking for mountain goats on the hillsides because they like the slopes of Mt. Fremont and Burroughs Mountain. Frozen Lake is fenced off because the lake is the water supply for the Sunrise area. Frozen Lake is a turning-back point for many tourists and from here the foot traffic really drops off.

The trail narrow trail climbs a few hundred feet and then levels out as it crosses a scree field. From there the trail resumes climbing up the mountain and levels out to a flat area just above the lookout. Pause to catch your breath and enjoy the 360 degree views.

On a clear day there are spectacular views of Mt. Rainier, Berkeley Park, Skyscraper Pass, and mountains to the west. Many weekends the lookout is open and staffed by volunteers. Look at how a fire lookout detected fires and find out how they get their water.

This is a relatively safe trail for small children and they will enjoy climbing up into the lookout when it is open. The first part of the trail is steep, and the trail climbs almost continuously to Frozen Lake. You may notice breathing is more difficult because of the elevation. The trail is above timberline and large sections of the trail can be seen climbing up the hillside.

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