Parking
Use the Comet Falls Trailhead lot on Paradise Road, about four miles east of Longmire. It holds roughly 16 cars and often fills; there is no additional parking nearby, so have a backup hike in mind.
Overview
About Comet Falls Trail
Why go
- Two striking waterfalls along a creekside route
- A dramatic 300-foot waterfall at the turnaround
Heads up
- Steep, rocky footing with a crib ladder and footlog crossing
- Small parking lot often fills, with no nearby overflow
Comet Falls Trail is a 3.8-mile out-and-back along Van Trump Creek to the waterfall’s base. Allow about three to four hours and expect roughly 1,200 feet of climbing. The payoff is a 300-foot waterfall, but the short mileage hides a steep, rough climb. Start early: the small trailhead lot often fills, and there’s no overflow parking nearby, so keep another hike in mind. There are no amenities at the lot, and dogs aren’t allowed on park trails.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mount Rainier map
Full mapElevation3,796–5,167 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
7 active Mount Rainier alerts
- ClosureWildfire closures in the northern parkGrand Park 2 and Wonderland Complex fire closures affect trails, backcountry camps, and Sunrise access; stay out of closed areas.Official details
- ClosureSR 165 bridge closed: no public access to Carbon River or Mowich LakeThe SR 165 Carbon River/Fairfax Bridge is closed to vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians; there is no public access or alternate route to Carbon River or Mowich Lake.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Rainier Tour Guide
Your drive to Comet Falls Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Rainier National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Mount Rainier audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Comet Falls: A Steep Waterfall Hike0:00 / 0:27
“Comet Falls trailhead is coming up, the start of a steep hike to a waterfall more than three hundred feet high.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mount Rainier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Christine Falls and Its Stone-Faced Bridge
- Trillium's Tiny Seed Carriers
- Ricksecker Point: The Old Road to Paradise
- Cougar Rock: A Picnic or a Waterfall Walk
- 77 audio storiesacross Mount Rainier’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mountain Goat, Black Bear, Wolverine, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 87 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Comet Falls Trail
The first mile stays close to the creekThe trail climbs through mixed young and old forest. At about 0.
The trail climbs through mixed young and old forest. At about 0.3 mile, a sturdy bridge crosses Van Trump Creek; it’s a good place to look both upstream and down toward Christine Falls. After roughly half a mile, trees open onto talus and an andesite rock outcrop. The creek stays close, so you hear it even when the forest closes in again. The tread starts wide, then gets steeper, with roots and loose rock. Muddy or wet sections can be slick.
The climb gets more hands-onAround 1.2 miles, a crib ladder carries the trail across a rock face.
Around 1.2 miles, a crib ladder carries the trail across a rock face. Crews built it after a 2012 slide, and it’s a memorable sign that the route is no longer an easy stroll. Near 1.6 miles, a footlog crosses the East Fork of Van Trump Creek beside Bloucher Falls, a three-tier cascade. From there, the trail passes wind-damaged trees and climbs steep switchbacks. A sign puts Comet Falls about 200 feet ahead, but your first look may be through the trees rather than at the closest viewpoint.
At the falls, stay on solid groundThe waterfall drops roughly 300 feet into a narrow canyon.
The waterfall drops roughly 300 feet into a narrow canyon. Spray can soak the rocks, and rockfall is a real hazard near the close-in plunge pool. Skip the informal scramble beneath the cliff; use a safe, established viewpoint. For a photo, include both the high main drop and the smaller cascade below it so the scale of the canyon comes through.
Comet Falls is the turnaroundThis 3.8-mile route ends at the waterfall.
This 3.8-mile route ends at the waterfall. The signed trail keeps climbing beyond it: Van Trump Park is a 5.8-mile round trip, and Mildred Point is 6.6 miles. Those are longer, steeper outings with different views, not small add-ons to this hike. Van Trump Park is named for P. B. Van Trump, who with Hazard Stevens was among the first climbers to reach Rainier’s summit in 1870.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Mount Rainier
466 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
383 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsWolverineMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
574 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
1,853 sightingsHoary MarmotMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Rainier. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
