Emerald Ridge Trail

Emerald Ridge Trail is a roughly 16-mile out-and-back from Dry Creek to the subalpine ridge above the South Puyallup River. About nine miles are on Westside Road and seven are on trail; the typical estimate is 8–9 hours with about 2,100 feet of gain. This is a full day, with a long approach before the hiking gets steep. Walk from Dry Creek to Round Pass, drop to the South Puyallup Trailhead, climb the river valley to its camp, then follow Wonderland Trail east to the ridge. Turn around there and return the same way. Do not add a different approach to make a loop; that changes both the route and its length.

Park in the small lot at Dry Creek, south of the barricade, and continue on foot along Westside Road. Round Pass is 3.8 miles up the closed-to-cars section. The half-mile shortcut from the pass drops to the South Puyallup Trailhead; taking the road instead adds about 1.2 miles. At Round Pass, the Marine Memorial remembers 32 Marines killed in a 1946 aircraft crash on South Tahoma Glacier. The stretch beyond Dry Creek crosses an active rockfall area, so avoid stopping there. There are no restrooms along Westside Road.

From the trailhead, South Puyallup Trail climbs gradually for about 1.6 miles through old-growth forest to the backcountry camp. This is the gentlest part of the hike, following the river valley over a built tread with puncheons, turnpikes, check steps, and bridges. About 1.5 miles in, look for tall hexagonal andesite columns. They formed as lava cooled in the valley thousands of years ago. A major river overflow in 2006 prompted crews to move a lower section uphill; the reroute was completed in 2019.

Just beyond camp, turn east onto Wonderland Trail. The tread turns very rocky and climbs more steeply toward Emerald Ridge. This is the hardest stretch, where the hike changes from a forest walk into a high-country climb. The ridge's high point along the mapped route is around 5,600 feet. Keep a steady pace here; you still have the same rough trail and road miles to walk on the way back.

At the ridge, the forest thins into subalpine vegetation and opens views toward Mount Rainier and Tahoma Glacier. The crags, snow and ice make the ridge the payoff. Stay on constructed tread and rock outcrops; the plants are fragile, and camping is not allowed on the ridge. For a photo, leave some rocky foreground under the mountain so the glacier's scale reads.