Everything You Need to Know Before Hiking Skyline Trail in Mount Rainier

Skyline Trail is hands down my favorite hike in Mount Rainier National Park! While it is definitely a challenging hike, gaining 1700ft elevation and taking 5.5 miles to complete, it is worth it! With incredible views the entire trail, you’ll be glad you added this hike to your itinerary, Keep reading to find out everything you need to know before hitting the trail!

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Getting to the Skyline Trail Head

Skyline Trail is located in the Paradise area in Mount Rainier. The easiest way to get to Paradise is to enter Mount Rainier at the Nisqually Entrance. From here you’ll follow signs to Paradise for 19 miles, about 40-45 minutes. While the parking lot at the Jackson Visitor’s Center is very large, it does fill up quickly so I recommend getting their as early as possible.

Start at the Jackson Visitors Center in Paradise

The trail starts off at the steps engraved with the famous John Muir quote, just beside the Jackson Visitor’s Center. The paved trail immediately starts gaining elevation. Once the pavement ends you’ll have the choice to follow the left or right trail. We opted for the left route, which continues its steady ascent up the mountain. Be sure to pause for breaks along the way, not just to catch your breath, but to take in the stunning views of the Tatoosh Range behind you.

Take a Break at Glacier Vista

Glacier Vista is the perfect spot to stop to take some pictures, eat a snack or two, and take in the views of Mount Rainier and the Nisqually Glacier. From here continue on the skyline trail for another .75 of a mile until you reach Panorama Point. After this point the trail begins to narrow and there will be quite a few stone stairs.

Soak in the 360 Views at Panorama Point

Soon you’ll come to a large clearing with 360 views of the Tatoosh mountain range in front of you and Mount Rainer behind you. The views at Panorama Point are absolutely breathtaking, so be sure to take your time soaking in the views here!

If you need a bathroom break, use the pit toilet that is just a short walk uphill from Panorama Point. If you don’t want to continue the Skyline Loop, you can turn back here and retrace your steps back to the visitors center. This will save you about a mile and a half, bringing the mileage for this hike to around 4 miles.

Continue on Skyline Loop

The uphill climb doesn’t stop here, once you finish taking in the views at Panorama Point, continue hiking up until you see a sign saying Pebble Creek trail, keep to the right and you’ll start your downhill journey along a rocky path at first.

The trail continues on until you reach a point where you can take the Golden Gate trail back to the visitors center (this route saves you about a mile) or opt to stay on the Skyline Trail. We didn’t realize the golden gate trail was a shortcut at the time (or we probably would’ve taken it) so we continued on the Skyline Trail.
While I was definitely exhausted by the time I finished this hike, the end of the skyline loop still offered some incredible views so I wasn’t disappointed that we continued on!

Myrtle Falls

Once you reach Myrtle Falls, there’s only about half a mile left until you reach the visitors center. If you haven’t already seen this waterfall I definitely recommend taking the short walk down to see it. 

Weather on the Skyline Trail

One thing to keep in mind is that this trail has very little to no shade. I would recommend wearing sunscreen, bringing a hat, and packing a lot of water. In summer months consider starting the hike early in the morning to avoid the hottest part of the day. We hiked this trail in September so the heat wasn’t an issue, though I did still get some sunburn because I forgot to apply sunscreen.
In mid September it was quite chilly, especially as we neared the top of the summit. If you’re planning on hiking this trail towards the beginning or ending of summer, I would definitely make sure to pack a few layers.
Mount Rainier does experience its fair share of foggy/rainy days, and I wouldn’t recommend doing this hike if it’s foggy. Skyline Loop is all about the gorgeous views, and on a foggy you won’t get to experience many of them.

Skyline Trail on a Foggy Day

We thought the fog was lifting, so we laced on our boots and headed up the skyline trail. We started with some great views of the Tatoosh mountain range, but it quickly became obvious we weren’t going to get any views of Mount Rainier the higher we climbed.

Our plan was to turn back once we didn’t feel comfortable climbing up anymore. However, when we were about halfway to Panorama Point, we met two girls who asked if we were doing the Skyline Trail, so we could do it together. Four people felt safer than two so we continued on. We got to enjoyed the company of our new friends and a learn a little about them, even though we didn’t see the views we hoped for.

As we descended the mountain the visibility improved slightly, but nothing compared to the views on a clear day.
Would I hike this trail in the fog again? definitely not. However, when we hiked to Panorama Point later that week, it made the views even more special.

If your heading to Mount Rainier National Park, I definitely recommend adding the Skyline Trail to your list of hikes. Be sure to pack your hiking poles, a few layers, snacks, and lots of water.

If you find yourself in Mt Rainier on a foggy day, I wouldn’t suggest this hike. However there are still plenty of things to do on foggy days. Check out my blog post for activities that are perfect for foggy days.