{"id":412,"date":"2016-06-11T17:44:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-11T17:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eyehike.com\/2016\/glacier-basin-wa\/"},"modified":"2016-06-11T17:44:51","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T17:44:51","slug":"glacier-basin-wa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyehike.com\/2016\/glacier-basin-wa\/","title":{"rendered":"Glacier Basin, WA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_pdf\"PDF<\/span><\/a>\"image_print\"Print<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Vicinity Location:<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>About 60 miles southeast
\nof Seattle, WA in Mt. Rainier National Park.<\/p>\n

Directions:<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>From Seattle: Follow I-5 South for 25 miles
\nand take exit 142A to merge onto WA Highway 18 East toward North Bend\/Auburn.
\nDrive 4.4 miles and take the Auburn Way\/WA Highway 164 East exit toward
\nEnumclaw for 0.2 mile.<\/p>\n

Make a slight right at 6th St SE then turn left
\nat Auburn Way S\/C St SE\/WA Highway 164.
\nContinue to follow WA Highway 164 for 14.7 miles
\nthen turn left at Roosevelt Ave E\/WA Highway 410.<\/p>\n

Continue to follow WA Highway 410 for 37.3
\nmiles.
\nMake a slight right at Sunrise Park Rd and
\nfollow it for 15.0 miles.<\/p>\n

From Portland: <\/strong>Take I-5 North towards Seattle and drive for about 75
\nmiles.
\nTake exit 68 for US-12 East. At the top of the
\noff ramp, turn right onto US-12 and travel about 71.8 miles. This takes you
\npast Morton and through Packwood.<\/p>\n

Make a slight left onto WA Highway 123, driving
\nfor 16.1 miles. This road is seasonally closed. Continue straight onto WA
\nHighway 410 for 3.5 miles.<\/p>\n

Make a sharp left onto Sunrise Park Rd and
\nfollow the road for 15 miles to the Sunrise Visitors Center.<\/p>\n

The road to Sunrise is usually only open from
\nJuly through September.<\/p>\n

There are bathrooms and water at the trailhead.<\/p>\n

Pets are not allowed on the trails in National
\nParks.<\/p>\n

A permit is needed to park.<\/p>\n

Trail:<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Glacier Basin Trail with connections to
\nEmmons Moraine Trail, and other unmaintained trails.<\/p>\n

Trail Maps:<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Topo
\nMap<\/a>, National
\nPark Map<\/a>, Download Garmin .gpx file<\/a><\/p>\n

Length and Elevation:<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>3.2 miles one way to Glacier Basin Camp. 4.1
\nmiles to turn-around point. <\/p>\n

<\/strong>Elevation at the trailhead at 4,330 feet, 5,970
\nfeet at Glacier Basin Camp and 6,700 feet at turn-around point. Highest point
\nis at 6,700 feet. Lowest elevation is 4,330 feet.
\nOne way elevation gain of 1,700 feet and loss of
\n60 feet to Glacier Basin. Gain of 2,400 and loss of 60 feet to the turn-around
\npoint.
\n<\/strong>
\nReview: September 8,
\n2012.<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>The trailhead for Glacier Basin Trail is
\neasy to find, once you get to White River and park in the large parking lot.
\nJust continue heading towards Mt. Rainier and you’ll see the well-signed trail
\nnestled between the sloping mountainside to the right and the swift-running
\nWhite River.<\/p>\n

From the trailhead, the first part of the trail
\nis almost level, heading through the forest and going gently uphill.<\/p>\n

After about .5 mile, the trail becomes steeper
\nand you break out of the trees for about 100 feet above the rive bed. Soon
\nafter that, you hit the first switchback heading higher along the valley.<\/p>\n

This first part of the trail has been completely
\nrebuilt over the last few years and you can see the hard work of the many
\nvolunteers that worked to reopen this trail after it was washed out by floods
\nin 1996-1997. Looking at the rockwork, you can see the care they took in
\ndesigning and building the trail.<\/p>\n

The trail takes another switchback just before
\nreaching a mostly-hidden waterfall. Though you can’t see it, the sounds are
\ndelightful as you wander up and get better views of Mt. Rainer.<\/p>\n

Since this first part of the trail is mainly in the forest, there aren’t very
\nmany wildflowers. Wildflowers appear only where trickles of water along the
\ntrail provide nourishment for them. <\/p>\n

The forest along the lower sections of this trail has a very thin layer of
\ntopsoil, so the soil dries quickly and doesn’t support flowers.<\/p>\n

After traveling about 1.1 miles, there is a junction for the Emmons Moraine
\nTrail to the left. This trail also has an overlook to a turquoise mel*****er
\nlake about .2 mile along the Emmons Moraine Trail. It is a worthwhile side trip
\nto the viewpoint. <\/p>\n

The trail continues through the forest on an abandoned road and passes some old
\ncopper mining equipment in a couple of spots. During the summers of 1897 and 1898,
\nprospectors discovered signs of copper ore deposits on the east flank of Mount
\nRainier, between the Emmons and Inter glaciers, in a place called Glacier Basin.
\nIn 1906, mining was begun, but no copper ore of commercial value was found and
\nthe mining was abandoned. <\/p>\n

At 2.6 miles from the trailhead is the junction for the Burroughs Mountain
\nTrail.<\/p>\n

Traveling about another .7 mile, you come to Glacier Basin Camp. Just before
\ncamp is a sign for the toilet. This trail loops around the entire camp, passing
\nby the toilet, and rejoins the main trail at the other end of Glacier Basin
\nCamp. <\/p>\n

Continuing on, you pass through the camp with several campsites. Just past the
\ncamp is a small lake off to the right. This lake is the water source for
\ncampers and hikers. <\/p>\n

Walking a bit farther, pass the end of trail maintenance sign. From here there
\nare a couple of user trails. One goes to the left and crosses the creek. This
\ncontinues up to the ridge on the far side of the valley and hikers on this
\ntrail eventually reach Camp Shurman. Note that reaching Camp Shurman requires
\nglacier travel and special equipment and rescue techniques are needed. <\/p>\n

Continuing straight ahead, climb along one of the branches of the White River,
\ncoming out of the trees. Climb fairly steeply at times along the roaring creek.
\nThis section can get slippery in damp weather because of the clay content
\nof  the soil. <\/p>\n

Just before you reach the high basin, cross a small creek that tumbles down the
\nhill. There are wildflowers that bloom all summer long along the creek. Follow
\nthe creek to where it springs out of the ground. Look carefully and you should
\nbe able to find a safe place to get a drink. Watch out for any marmot dens that
\ncould pollute the water. <\/p>\n

Continue a little farther and come into the small basin. The trail soon fades
\naway. Pick a place to take a break, enjoy the view, and have a well deserved
\nsnack. <\/p>\n

Looking down the valley, you can see where you started the hike far below you
\nin the distance. <\/p>\n

This is a fairly easy trail for children up to Glacier Basin Camp. After the
\ncamp, the trail travels a narrow ridge about 30 feet above the creek. If you want
\nto avoid the ridge, can pick your way through a little ravine. Children will
\nenjoy playing in the snow patches and streams in the high basin.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the Photos!<\/p>\n

Gallery
\nPics 
\n<\/a>
\nSwitchback Steve<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hike up to a scenic basin below Mt. Rainier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[34,32,28],"class_list":["post-412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dayhikes","tag-lake","tag-mt-rainier","tag-waterfall"],"yoast_head":"\nGlacier Basin, WA - Eyehike - Your Guide to Hiking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Glacier Basin, WA - Eyehike - Your Guide to Hiking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hike up to a scenic basin below Mt. 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