On this four day backpacking trip at Mount Rainier, we camped at Berkeley Park and did day hikes to Skyscraper Pass and Second Burroughs Mountain.

TRIP PLANNING

• distance & elevation gain to Berkeley Park campsite: 4 miles, 417 ft. gain & 1,200 ft. loss
• day hike options: Burroughs Mountain, Skyscraper Mountain
• best months: August – September
• location: Mount Rainier National Park – Sunrise area
• land management: Mount Rainier National Park
• trail conditions: Trails and Backcountry Camp Conditions
• hike description: Washington Trails Association
• permits: Permits are required for all backcountry campsites
• trailhead pass: National Park Pass required

Day 1 – hike in to campsite

4 miles with 417 ft. gain & 1,200 ft. loss

This was my first time backpacking at Mount Rainier, and my 60th backpacking trip overall since starting in 2015. I chose Berkeley Park for it’s proximity to the Sunrise area and for the many day hike options from our camp area. While I’ve camped and hiked here five times, I was excited to finally be able to spend a few nights in the backcountry.

National Park entry!

When we arrived, it was heavily overcast and we couldn’t see the mountain except for tiny peeks through the clouds. We started on the Sourdough Ridge Trail, hiked past Frozen Lake and on to the Wonderland Trail until a junction with the Northern Loop Trail. Berkeley Park is located about 1.5 miles (and a lot of descent!) from the junction.

view from the Sourdough Ridge Trail

on the Wonderland Trail

looking down into Berkeley Park

descending into a beautiful valley!

Lodi Creek meanders next to the trail the entire way to camp

Hippy on a Stick – aka: Western Pasqueflower in seed head stage

this spring emerges from the ground and joins Lodi Creek

there are a lot of pikas and marmots in this area

Lodi Creek is so beautiful!

most of the wildflowers were long gone, but gentian was still hanging on

almost to camp

I tucked my tent into the trees at the Berkeley Park group camp

Day 2 – hike to Skyscraper Pass

6 miles with 1,200 ft. gain

It was cold and foggy in the morning… the overnight low was 40 degrees and the high for the day was 45 degrees. Due to the lack of views, we decided to hike to Skyscraper Pass and save the top scenic hike for the next day.

foggy conditions on the peaks above us

hiking on the Wonderland Trail towards Skyscraper Pass

Lodi Creek high above Berkeley Park

looking back towards where we hiked in the previous day

almost to Skyscraper Pass on the Wonderland Trail

I didn’t take very many photos at the pass since views were limited. While we were at the pass, I looked for a trail that led to a saddle between Second and Third Burroughs, but there is no trail. This would determine the route we would take the next day. After taking a short break at the pass, we headed back to camp.

Berkeley Park was definitely a highlight on this trip… it’s so scenic!

I can imagine how beautiful this would be during prime wildflower time.

sunset near camp

Day 3 – hike to Second Burroughs Mountain

6.6 miles with 1,655 ft. gain

After an even colder night with a low of 38 degrees, we woke up to clear skies, perfect for the hike up Burroughs Mountain since it’s the closest we could get to Mount Rainier on this trip.

The Burroughs include three barren peaks: First, Second and Third Burroughs. We headed back to Frozen Lake and the junction for the Burroughs trails. Since this was Saturday, we were far from alone. This hike is very close to the Sunrise area at Rainier and quite crowded with people doing day hikes. Nonetheless, it is a spectacular hike and we enjoyed meeting other hikers on the trail.

The Burroughs with the top of Mount Rainier making an appearance for the first time on our trip.

heading up First Burroughs

getting closer to the mountain

views on the way up, including the green valley we were camped in

on First Burroughs, with Second in the distance

looking down towards Berkeley Park with peaks all around

Mount Rainier and a view of Third Burroughs

wow… just wow

Three in our group decided to hike up to Third Burroughs while a friend and I stayed at Second to relax for a couple of hours. We chatted with several day hikers while enjoying the views. A big bonus was getting to see another group of three of our friends with permits for a different camp area about four miles from ours.

heading back towards our camp

Day 4 – hike out to trailhead

4 miles with 1,200 ft. gain & 417 ft. loss

While it was sad to leave, it was time to head home so we packed up for the hike out. Since the hike in had a lot of downhill, we had to make up for that on the hike out. With much clearer skies than when we hiked in, we were able to see everything that we couldn’t on the hike in.

last views of Lodi Creek

hiking out

on the Sourdough Ridge trail

views to the north included Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, and Mount Stuart

view of Mount Rainier from the Sunrise area

I absolutely loved this trip and plan to visit more of this majestic mountain in the future.