Mount Rainier National Park, WA
A long road walk earns a flowered meadow and alpine lake.
Overview
Klapatche Park via St. Andrews Creek is a 21-mile out-and-back from Dry Creek on Westside Road. The route spends nearly eight miles each way on gravel road before a 2.6-mile climb on St. Andrews Creek Trail reaches subalpine meadows and Aurora Lake. Wildflowers, a high-country lake, and open views of Mount Rainier are the payoff, but most of the distance is the approach. Published elevation gain ranges from about 2,900 to 3,300 feet, so plan for roughly 3,000 feet of climbing. The mapped corridor is 10.18 miles one way; published totals differ slightly, so use 21 miles as the planning figure. Expect about 13 hours on foot, including stops, for a one-day push. The park's route plan treats this as a two-day backcountry outing, which is the better fit if you want time at the meadow.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Rainier Tour Guide
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
Dry Creek: The Long Approach to Gobblers Knob“You're nearing Dry Creek, where vehicle access on Westside Road ends and the long approach to Gobblers Knob begins.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mount Rainier Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
From Dry Creek, Westside Road continues past the vehicle barricade toward Round Pass and St. Andrews Creek. It's a long gravel-road walk shared with bicycles; bikes can continue to the trailhead but not onto the hiking trail. Keep moving through the rockfall hazard area. Round Pass has a Marine Memorial for 32 Marines killed when their plane struck South Tahoma Glacier on December 10, 1946. Westside Road was meant to become part of an around-the-mountain road but was never completed; flooding and debris flows from Tahoma Creek cut vehicle access beyond its first three miles. That history explains why the road accounts for most of this hike.
At St. Andrews Creek, the foot trail starts on the east side of the stone bridge. A historic ranger cabin is nearby. The separate 0.3-mile Denman Falls loop begins on the other side of the road; it's a worthwhile extra stop after the long approach, but it isn't part of the route or distance above. St. Andrews Creek Trail climbs on long switchbacks from the valley to the Wonderland Trail at Klapatche Park. Near the top, the forest gives way to open subalpine meadow, ponds, wildflowers, and Aurora Lake.
Klapatche's campsites sit in forest at the meadow's edge, just north of Aurora Lake. The path through the flowered meadow with Rainier beyond the trees is the defining view here; take a moment for it instead of turning straight around. Aurora Lake can dry up in summer. When it does, St. Andrews Lake is about 0.75 mile farther east on the Wonderland Trail; that detour adds roughly 1.5 miles to the round trip. Treat every natural water source.
The small Dry Creek parking area is off Westside Road, about a mile east of Nisqually Entrance on SR 706. Vehicle access to Dry Creek is typically seasonal, May through November, so check the gate and road conditions before setting out. There are no restrooms along Westside Road; the nearest comfort station is at Kautz Creek, about 5.5 miles back toward Longmire. Food services were not found along the route, so bring meals. Dogs are prohibited on the road and trails, and overnight camping requires a wilderness permit. Bring food and enough water for the long road approach and climb.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ChallengingEmerald Ridge Trail16 mi · 8.5 hr · At the trailheadA long west-side approach pays off with Tahoma Glacier views.
ModerateLake George Trail9.2 mi · 5 hr · At the trailheadA long road walk ends at a lake and historic patrol cabin.
ModerateWestside Road to Round Pass7.6 mi · 4 hr · At the trailheadA gravel road walk ends at the Marine Memorial at Round Pass.
ChallengingLake George and Gobblers Knob Trail11.2 mi · 6.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn old road leads to a 1933 lookout above Tahoma Glacier.
ModerateSouth Puyallup Trail3.2 mi · 2.5 hr · 2 mi awayFind columnar lava where this forest trail meets the Wonderland
ChallengingMirror Lakes Trail13.4 mi · 8.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayA signed lake spur waits beyond a steep climb into open meadows.
ChallengingIndian Henry's Hunting Ground via Kautz Creek Trail11.5 mi · 7 hr · 3.2 mi awayA steep climb to a historic cabin in Rainier's wildflower meadows.
EasyKautz Creek Nature Trail0.2 mi · 18 min · 3.2 mi awayA short boardwalk turns a mudflow scar into a forest story.
Historic marker · 1.8 mi awayMarine MemorialA sobering memorial to 32 Marines, 3.8 miles from Dry Creek.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayGobblers Knob Fire LookoutA 1933 lookout above Lake George, reached by a long, steep hike.
Sight · 2.3 mi awayIndian Henry’s Patrol CabinA century-old patrol cabin in a meadow backed by Mount Rainier
Entrance station · 3.1 mi awayNisqually EntranceA cedar-log gateway with a century of park history.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayKautz CreekA short boardwalk to a mountain overlook and a glacier flood story.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayElcaine Longmire CabinA small 1888 cabin from Longmire’s early settlement.
Sight · 3.9 mi awayLongmire Mineral SpringsRead the landscape through bubbles, mineral stains and a resort past.
Store · 3.9 mi awayLongmire General StoreA 1911 log shop for snacks and trail supplies.Parkwolf’s Mount Rainier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
