Parking
Use the Lake Eleanor Trailhead on Forest Road 73 at Eleanor Creek. A small lot is about 150 feet past the trail entrance; keep the road clear. There is no toilet at the trailhead.
Overview
About Lake Eleanor Trail
Why go
- Reach a forest-ringed lake in under a mile.
- The lake turnaround keeps this much shorter than the Grand Park hike.
Heads up
- A moderate climb packs much of the effort into a short approach.
- Small roadside parking area and no trailhead toilet.
Lake Eleanor Trail is a roughly 1.9-mile out-and-back from Forest Road 73 to Lake Eleanor and back. Allow about 1 to 1½ hours. It’s a short destination walk with a steady forest climb; this route stops at the lake, before the much longer Grand Park meadows.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mount Rainier map
Full mapElevation4,616–5,052 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Lake Eleanor 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- The Summit That Collapsed
- Sunrise: Walk to Emmons Vista
- Sunrise Road White River View: Rainier's Crater Rim
- The Layers Beneath the Snow
- 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 Lake Eleanor Trail
The climb from Eleanor CreekStart beside Eleanor Creek at the Forest Road 73 trailhead.
Start beside Eleanor Creek at the Forest Road 73 trailhead. The path enters Mount Rainier National Park within the first tenth of a mile, then climbs at a moderate grade through mixed forest. Lake Eleanor comes in just under a mile from the start, so the lake is a natural turnaround for this shorter outing.
At the lakeA few established backcountry campsites sit around the lakeshore, with views across the water.
A few established backcountry campsites sit around the lakeshore, with views across the water. Overnight camping requires a backcountry permit. No pets are allowed on Mount Rainier trails.
If you want to keep goingThe trail continues beyond Lake Eleanor toward Grand Park.
The trail continues beyond Lake Eleanor toward Grand Park. It climbs and then drops about 150 feet to a meadow before climbing through hemlock and fir into broader meadows, where the open route reaches views of Mount Rainier. That’s a much longer hike; turn around at the lake for the short route represented here.
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.
