Hikers on the popular Skyline Trail, which climbs into the high subalpine areas above Paradise.
NPS Photo
Hiking at Mount Rainier National Park can mean adventure, exploration, learning, or just plain having fun! The secret to a great hike? Staying safe!
Hikers need to emphasize personal safety as they journey by foot through the backcountry and along many of the popular trails. Fortrail conditions and information, talk with a ranger at any visitor center or wilderness information center. Be prepared for encounters with wildlife. Use the following tips to keep your journey safe.
An example of good footware for hiking includes a supportive, waterproof hiking boot to minimize the risk of ankle injuries and to keep your feet warm and dry.
NPS Graphic
Use Common Sense
Protect yourself by wearing appropriate outdoor clothing including sturdy footwear like hiking boots with non-slip tread and ankle support. When hiking in snow or rain, footware should be waterproof with some insulation.
Always tell someone your travel plans so they can notify the park if you fail to return.
Do not travel alone. If visibility is poor, do not travel at all.
Have a way to communicate. Do not rely on your cell phone because most of Mount Rainier National Park has no cell coverage. Consider having a personal locator beacon, should you need to call for help. If you are using your cell phone, keep the battery fully charged. Searching for a cell signal can quickly drain your phone battery, so consider turning off your phone or switching to airplane mode until you need it.
A lightning strike on Mount Rainier.
NPS/Keegan Photo
Pay Attention To The Weather
At Mount Rainier, the weather can change rapidly. Hikers who aren’t prepared for adverse weather conditions increase their risk of becoming lost or injured. Avoid problems by planning and preparing for Mount Rainier’s changeable weather. For more information on weather, including current forecasts, go to our weather page. Learn how to be a weather-ready explorer.
Thunderstorms and Lightning
Thunderstorms can happen on Mount Rainier, along with lightning. A lightning strike is usually fatal. Ultimately, in a thunderstorm there is no safe shelter outside. The only safe place is in a substantial building or hard topped vehicle.
Lightning Safety Tips
Check the weather forecast. Consider postponing a hike to avoid lightning.
Watch for a build-up of cumulus clouds. Seek shelter or go to lower elevations if you see towering thunderheads, darkening skies, increased wind, or thunder and lightning. On Mount Rainier, thunderstorms may be building around the corner of the mountain and be hard to notice from your location. Be prepared if conditions change quickly.
Even if a thunderstorm is approaching from a far away, descend as far and fast as you can before taking shelter.
If you hear the rumble of thunder, a thunderstorm is within 10 miles (16 km). Do not wait; this is a warning you that you need to get to a safe place immediately. Remember: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!
Avoiding a thunderstorm before one arrives is the best way to stay safe. If you're unable to avoid a thunderstorm, here are some additional tips to minimize the chance of being hit by lightning:
Avoid viewpoints.
Avoid tall, isolated, or solitary trees, water, metal, and power lines. Lightning often strikes the tallest object in the area.
Find an open, low space on solid ground. If you're in the forest with no clearing, position yourself under the shortest trees you can find.
Seek a place sheltered from direct strikes (avoid high points and tall objects) and ground currents (avoid tree roots).
Remove metal objects and electrical devices from your body (ice axe, trekking poles, cell phones, etc.)
Avoid water-related activities.
Avoid open vehicles. Do not touch any metal in the vehicle during the storm.
If you’re in your tent, get out—the poles attract lightning.
Space yourself at least 50 feet (15 meters) from your hiking companions. This minimizes the chances that everyone will be struck by lightning, allowing some members of your group to render first aid and/or get help.
As a last resort, make yourself a small target by crouching on your toes with your hands covering your ears. Touch the ground as little as possible; the ground conducts electricity. Do not lie flat.
Remember, the only safe place is inside a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle. Stay alert in a safe location until 30 minutes after you last hear thunder.
Hiking in Spring
After a long, dark winter it can be exciting to be back in the park in spring! However, it's also easy to underestimate the risks and hazards at higher elevations on the mountain, where snow can linger on trails into June or July. Follow the tips for safe spring hiking.
Hiking in Hot Weather
Heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, sunburns, and heat rash are examples of heat-related illness. Heat-related illnesses are serious and can lead to death if not treated quickly. Stay cool, hydrated, and informed to beat the heat while visiting the park! If you plan to visit Mount Rainier on a hot day or if you plan to be out in the sun all day, take care and prepare to avoid heat-related illness.
Heat Safety Tips
Check the weather forecast and park alerts. Check the weather conditions for extreme heat alerts and stop by the visitor center before visiting the park for current conditions.
Take time to acclimate to high altitudes. Your body loses more fluids at high altitudes, increasing your risk of dehydration and heat-related illness. Allow several days to acclimate before starting any strenuous exercise.
Pace yourself. Start your hike slowly and pick up the pace gradually.
Take plenty of breaks. Rest in the shade or cool down in air conditioning.
Drink plenty of water. Stay hydrated and drink before you feel thirsty. Bring extra water in case you need it. Sports beverages can help replace salt and minerals lost from sweat.
Limit the consumption of caffeine from energy drinks or other high sources of caffeine. Some energy drinks contain much more caffeine than standard servings of coffee, tea, or soft drinks. Drinking several energy drinks per day can raise your caffeine levels enough to affect your heart. High caffeine levels can be risky when added to the strain placed on your body by heat.
Wear sun protection. UVA/UVB sunscreen, a hat, lightweight and light-colored clothing, and sunglasses are recommended. Sunlight reflecting off snow can also cause sunburns.
Do not leave children or pets in a parked vehicle. The temperature in a car can rise very quickly!
Be cautious of hot pavement. Do not let children and pets walk barefoot on hot pavement, which can cause burns.
As a volcano topped with glaciers, the landscape of Mount Rainier can change suddenly and unexpectedly. Potential geohazards include glacier outburst floods and debris flows. Learn the signs and know how to get to safety. Find out more on the geohazards page.
Even with log bridges, river crossings can be dangerous. The White River roars over the log bridge along the Wonderland Trail near White River Campground at 1:30 pm on August 9, 2018.
NPS/A Bodette
Crossing Streams Safely
Many hikers underestimate the power of moving water and some consider their former successful stream crossings as a ticket to the other side. This may not be true. Regardless of your knowledge, skills, and experience use the pointers below in making wise decisions when crossing a steam.
Your best option may be turning back. If conditions do not look safe or above your skill level, do not try to cross. Your safety is more important than your itinerary. Permits or reservations can be adjusted to accommodate safe river crossings.
Remember, if you hear "boom" noises as boulders or large rocks move around in river, it means the water is STRONG and FAST. In addition to the current knocking you over, you could be hit by rocks moving in the river. Be cautious when deciding where to cross rivers, or if it's necessary to cross at all. Taking these few precautions could save your day...and your life!
Stream Safety Tips
Do not try to cross water that comes above your knees.
Early morning is the best time to cross when river levels are typically at their lowest. Water levels may change by as much as a foot from morning to late afternoon.
Look for a place where the river is braided into multiple channels, and cross at the widest part.
Before crossing, scout downstream for log jams, waterfalls, and other hazards that could trap you. Locate a point where you can exit if you fall in. Swimming may not be possible in the swift flow or if you are swept against submerged rocks or downed trees.
Use a sturdy stick to maintain two points of contact with the ground at all times.
Unfasten the belt of your pack so you can easily discard it.
Staring down at moving water can make you dizzy. Face upstream and look forward as much as possible.
Straddling a foot log may be safer than walking. Consider the consequences of a fall.
Ice Cave Safety
Have you seen a cool photo of an ice cave that makes you want to find one at Mount Rainier? There are many safety issues with approaching or entering an ice cave (most of them are mostly melt water channels, not ice caves). Mount Rainier was known for a few well-developed ice caves, but with the warming climate, those have disappeared, replaced only by transitory and unstable channels/caves. The park closed the historic ice caves around 1980 due to unsafe conditions including ice chunks and flakes, some the size of a small car, breaking loose and falling from the cave ceiling. Visitors are strongly discouraged from approaching or entering ice caves or melt-water channels as they are prone to spontaneous collapse due to melting.
Ice Cave Hazards
Ceiling and entrance collapse, or ice and rock fall, could be fatal or cause serious injuries to those who venture inside or near the entrance of an ice cave.
Those entering these channels/caves are in danger of hypothermia due to the combination of cold air temperatures inside and colder melt water flowing from the snowfield. Melt water volumes inside will increase throughout the day (just as stream crossing hazards are greater in the afternoon).
Hiking on glaciers and snow fields over ice caves/melt-water channels may result in breaking through the ice and snow and falling onto rock or into streams running below.
Consider the risks before setting out to photograph or explore an ice cave. There many other amazing places to explore at Mount Rainier!
A crevasse melting out on the Muir Snowfield in August 2023.
NPS Photo
Hiking the Muir Snowfield
The Muir Snowfield, a permanent field of snow, ice and rock outcrops, is located north of Paradise between 7,000 and 10,000 feet in elevation. Thousands of people hike on the Muir Snowfield each year en route to Camp Muir. On a clear day, the hike is spectacular. But when the weather deteriorates, as it often and unpredictably does, crossing the Muir Snowfield can be disastrous. While it may be disappointing to abandon your hike to Camp Muir, remember that the snowfield will still be there in better weather.
The Muir Snowfield also exhibits many of the qualities of a glacier. There is glacier ice and small, but deep, crevasses. Each year in May, we measure about six meters (roughly 20 feet) of winter snow accumulation at 9,600 feet on the snowfield. This winter snow melts off completely in some years, exposing older layers of snow below. In hot, late-summer weather, this old snow can melt to reveal old glacier ice. When this happens, the route to Camp Muir requires travel on very firm glacier ice and passage around open crevasses.
Late in the season, especially in hotter years when the snow melts off, hiking the Muir Snowfield requires moderate technical skills and experience with crampons or augmented traction devices for your feet. Exposed, rough glacier ice is “no-fall” terrain (see descriptions of hazards below) even if you stay out of crevasses. So, if you’re new to this type of terrain or have little experience in this type of environment, we recommend patience and sitting the rest of the summer out.
To protect fragile alpine vegetation, hike only on official trails or snow. Learn more about climbing on Mount Rainier.
Muir Snowfield Safety Tips
Avoid the snowfield in questionable weather, especially if you’re alone or unprepared. Weather conditions can change suddenly and drastically.
If you’re ascending and clouds or fog start rolling in, turn around and head back to Paradise. If that’s not possible, stop moving, dig in, and wait for better weather.
Without a compass, map, and altimeter, it is extremely difficult to find your way to the trailhead in a whiteout. Carry these items and know how to use them.
Do not descend on skis or a snowboard in limited visibility — you could become lost.
When hiking to Camp Muir, be sure to carry emergency bivouac or camping gear so that you can spend the night out if necessary.
If you slip and fall on exposed glacier ice that has melted out late in the season, it is difficult to stop and you can accelerate uncontrollably down the hill. Ice axes, sticks, trekking poles don’t help much trying to stop. There’s nothing for them to grab into!
The surface of the ice is pocked with many air bubbles creating a cheese-grater type of surface that can really leave its mark on your exposed (and clothed) flesh!
If you start to slide and can’t stop, you may fall into a crevasse. Over the years, it isn’t uncommon for hikers trying to negotiate this terrain to find themselves with a twisted ankle or worse 10-15 feet down in a vertical-sided icebox. Sound doesn’t travel well from inside a crevasse. Calling for help may not work.
