This short but extremely rewarding hike begins at a trail head along Forest Road 59. The trail follows a ridge of highlands that are just west of Mt Rainier. However, most of the hike is within heavily forested terrain.

In season, there are lots of floral displays along the way. The more open the environment, the better the displays. There is some up and down to this hike. However, each time you climb, you descend less, and eventually gain over 900 feet by the time you reach the summit of Glacier View.

The very name of this peak denotes the expected reward of the hike. Not only do you have a front row seat to Mt Rainier and its awesome glaciers, but you can see Mt Baker to the north, Mt Adams to the southeast, Mt Hood to the south, and Mt St Helens to the southwest.

Mt Rainier as seen from Glacier View

From Puyallup, WA
From the junction of SR512 and SR161 in Puyallup to the junction of SR161 and SR7 in Elbe is about 36 miles. Then traveling east on SR161 it is about 8 miles to Ashford.

From Morton, WA
Follow SR7 north out of Morton for about 16 miles to the junction of SR161 in Elbe. Turn right onto SR161 and travel about 8 miles east to Ashford.

From Ashford travel east on highway 706 for about 3 miles. Turn left (north) onto Forest Road 59. At 4.1 miles you will pass Forest Road 5920 which goes to the trailhead for Lake Christine. For this hike continue on FR 59 about another 3.8 miles to the trailhead for this hike.