Jan and I took off to Mount Rainier 1.5 hrs away on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful, hot day and we thought a trip closer to the snow might be nice. We had the trail pretty much to ourselves and some elk the whole time. Palisades Lake Trail meanders through several meadows (soon to be covered with alpine flowers) and small lakes, the last of which is Upper Palisades Lake. A Palisade is a wall made of stakes or trees like you'd see as a defense around something in Medieval Europe. They named it Palisades Lakes because they make a "ring" around the mountain.
The trailhead begins at a popular overlook at a hairpin turn on the way to Sunrise a half mile closer to the mountain. It's a very popular area, so most people stop at the parking lot near the trailhead for selfies, then continue up. This means that the trail itself isn't heavily used.
The trail flows through meadows dotted with ponds, streams and lakes. It's very peaceful, especially when nobody else is there. During the summer and fall, these meadows will be full of flowers which are starting to emerge now.
The berries bring out the bear in the fall and there are several reports of them in the area. This kept us on our toes until we made it safely to the Upper Palisades Lake for lunch in the hammock.
After eating and exploring a bit, we headed back just before sunset. The most wildlife we saw to this point was a grouse (picture skinny, brown mountain chicken). Then we emerged from some trees into a small meadow and startled three elk standing in a pond ~40 yards to our left. They took off like a train out of the water and we nearly soiled our shorts. If it had been any darker and we couldn't see them immediately, it would have been one of those near-life experiences. I couldn't get any photos because they headed into the trees, apparently intimidated by my size...
We returned to the car as the sun was casting shadows on the eastern hills. It was quiet and warm and beautiful. We saw two more elk on the way back on/near the trail. Before heading home we drove up to Sunrise and took some more photos. What an amazing place.
Any hike that starts and ends in a Porsche has to be great ;)
Map & Stats
7.5 mile out & back
Gain: 1800 ft
Highest Point: 6150 ft
Mount Rainier entrance pass required
No dogs allowed in the park