Tolmie Peak Mount Rainier

We drove up to Mowich Lake on the west side of Mt Rainier National Park for our hike today. Fabulous wildflowers in bloom. We parked right by the trailhead to Tolmie Peak and saw all these asters in bloom by the side of the road.

This is a 6 mile round trip hike with a total elevation gain of 1,700 ft (there is a bit of up and down on this trail).

The trail to Tolmie Peak leaves from the west end of Mowich Lake and follows the Wonderland Trail north towards Ipsut Pass. As we hiked around the west end of Mowich Lake, we had some glimpses of Mt Rainier across the lake through the trees.

At 1.2 miles and 100 ft elevation gain, the trail to Eunice Lake and Tolmie Peak leaves the Wonderland Trail 200 ft before reaching Ipsut Pass. The trail descends into the forest and crosses some screes and beautiful patch of wildflowers. The trail descends for about 0.6 miles and 200 ft.

We took lots of pictures of the flowers and enjoyed being in the shade for most of the hike on this hot day.

Shortly after the trail starts climbing up towards Eunice Lake (about 0.1 mile), there is a short spur towards an unnamed waterfall. A great place to cool off and see more wildflowers.

The trail to Eunice Lake goes up some steep switchbacks, climbing about 450 ft in 0.5 miles. As we neared the lake, we could see Tolmie Ridge in the distance, behind the fields of bear grass.

We decided to hike up to Tolmie Peak, before sitting besides Eunice Lake. The trail is only 0.9 miles from the junction with Eunice Lake to the lookout on Tolmie Peak. The first part of the trail is a gentle up and down going to the west side of Eunice Lake through fields of wildflowers.

At the far end of Eunice Lake, before climbing up to Tolmie Peak, we saw fields and fields of avalanche lilies.

From Eunice Lake, the trail climbs about 400+ ft, but the
views get better and better!

We sat in the shade of the lookout tower for a quick lunch break (the mosquitos were swarming), enjoying the view!















A panoramic view from the lookout tower:

After lunch, we hiked out towards the eastern end of Tolmie Peak.

More wildflowers along this boot trail and continuous views.

Before heading back down to Eunice Lake, we took the short spur trail to the other (west) end of Tolmie Peak.

We loved the mixture of colors and varieties of the wildflowers in bloom today.

















We returned to Eunice Lake to wade in the water and cool off and enjoy the rest of our lunch. Tolmie Peak seen in the background.

 We saw some salamanders swimming in the lake.

 When we returned to the Wonderland Trail, we hiked the 200 ft to look out over Ipsut Pass before returning to Mowich Lake.

Some of the beautiful wildflowers we saw today on our hike: