Wonderland Trail

Wonderland Trail
The Cowlitz Divide portion of the trail, in the southeastern portion of the park, offers many views of Mt. Rainier and its numerous glaciers.
Length	93 miles (150 km)
Location	Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States
Trailheads	Longmire Mowich Lake Ipsut Creek Camp Ground Sunrise parking area White River Camp Ground Fryingpan Creek Trailhead Box Canyon Reflection Lakes Cougar Rock
Use	Hiking
Elevation
Elevation gain/loss	22,000 feet (6,700 m) gain approximately
Highest point	Panhandle Gap 6,750 feet (2,060 m)
Lowest point	Ipsut Creek Campground 2,320 feet (710 m)
Hiking details
Season	Summer to early Fall
Months	Mid-July through late September
Website	nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/the-wonderland-trail.htm

Coordinates: 46°52′08″N 121°39′33″W / 46.8689°N 121.6592°W / 46.8689; -121.6592

The Wonderland Trail is an approximately 93 mile (150 km)hiking trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States. The trail goes over many ridges of Mount Rainier for a cumulative 22,000 feet (6,700 m) of elevation gain. The trail was built in 1915. In 1981, it was designated a National Recreation Trail. An estimated 200 to 250 people a year complete the entire trail with several thousand others doing shorter sections of it. The average time taken to complete the entire trip is 10 to 14 days.

The trail is entirely within the national park and passes through major life zones of the park, from lowland forests to subalpine meadows of wildflowers. As the trail circles the mountain, hikers see different faces of Mount Rainier, carved by 25 named glaciers.

The trail is considered strenuous as it is almost always climbing or descending the ridges around the mountain. The highest point is 6,750 feet (2,060 m) at Panhandle Gap.

There are many river crossings on the trail including two suspension bridges. Many of the rivers are crossed on primitive log bridges which can wash away during heavy rain or when there is a lot of snow melt in the rivers. Most of the bridges washed away during a major storm in November 2006, so the trail was impassable (and closed) to hikers through most of 2007.