Owyhigh Lakes Trail

The hike to Owyhigh Lakes is a pretty, less busy option in Mount Rainier National Park. These two lakes underneath a dramatic mountain ridge make for a perfect picnic stop! You can also continue past the lakes to summit Tamanos Mountain if you’d like to extend your adventure.

Begin from the signed trailhead across the road from the parking area. It’s a nice trail and the elevation gain is gradual. You’ll be hiking through the trees for the first portion of the trail. At 0.6mi, you can see over the Shaw Creek drainage. A bridge appears at 2.9mi before the campsite.

A half-mile past the campsite, the forest gives way to meadows. The meadows are absolutely filled with flowers during midsummer. At 3.5mi, the trail passes the lakes from above, where you’ll be treated to views of the deep blue water and Governors Ridge above. It’s not recommended to go into the actual meadow that holds the lakes from the ridge, as it’s fragile land; look for the trail that heads to the lakes from the southwest to avoid trampling the area.

From this lookout, either retrace your steps back to the lot or continue to a Y-junction where the trail to Tamanos Mountain branches off to the right if you’re going to attempt the summit.