"Consider the Northern Loop as a Wonderland Trail light. It’s a spectacularly rugged and wild loop through Mount Rainier National Park’s northern hinterlands without the crowds and within a lot less distance. Traverse parkland meadows, alpine tundra, old-growth forest, and high passes. And witness raging creeks, placid lakes, and massive glaciers. From Sunrise, you have three choices for starting this hike; all converge at a five-way junction with the Wonderland Trail at Frozen Lake (elev. 6750 ft). For this hike, follow either the old Sunrise Camp Road to the Wonderland Trail junction in 1.5 miles. A third choice, the meandering Sunrise Rim trail, reaches the Wonderland Trail junction in 2.3 miles, adding 0.8 mile to this loop." Read more

"This wondrous loop around the roadless northern section of Mount Rainier National Park involves intense ascents and descents and offers spectacular views of mountain meadows, massive parks, numerous lakes, glaciers and glacial moraines, abundant wildlife, and of course, Mount Rainier. Quite possibly our favorite backpacking trip in Mount Rainier National Park, the Northern Loop offers all anyone could want in the way of scenery. From a massive expanse of mountain meadow to an even more massive expanse of nearby glaciers, this hike traverses nearly all the climatic zones in the park. It also produced the greatest number of wildlife sightings for the authors." Read more

"A spectacularly rugged and wild loop through the northern hinterlands of Mount Rainier National Park, this trip packs a wilderness wallop! Traverse parkland meadows, alpine tundra, old-growth forest, glacial moraine, high passes, and low valleys. Witness raging creeks, placid lakes, massive glaciers, and unsurpassed natural beauty. And experience much of it without the crowds that usually populate the Wonderland Trail." Read more