Comet Falls and Van Trump Park

Mt Rainier and Van Trump Park

Our next hiking excursion included a return to Mt Rainier National Park ... this time to Comet Falls and Van Trump Park in the SW corner of the park.  Even weekdays in the summer can be incredibly crowded, so we rallied for an early Seattle departure, but still didn't get a spot in the (admittedly small) parking lot.  But the early start still paid off, with fewer people (at least on the way up) and some nice shade for the climb.

And the trail is pretty serious about climbing ... not the steepest trail, but it goes up and only briefly relents.  But, within 5 minutes of the trailhead, the trail crosses a bridge spanning the roaring cascades of Van Trump Creek ... quite an awesome sight.  For the next mile or so, the trail closely follows the creek as it tumbles down the steep hillside, providing multiple overlooks and a distraction from the elevation gain.  Just beyond a beautiful set of back-lit falls, suddenly Comet Falls appears!  For some reason, Tom was totally startled by this 300' waterfall, somehow thinking that all the smaller falls along the way were Comet Falls.  Quite the spectacular surprise!

Beyond the falls, views of the mountain start to appear, and it comes in to full (but foreshortened) view once the meadows of Van Trump Park are reached.  We continued up beyond the maintained trail, through glorious green meadows sprinkled with wildflowers and great views.  And solitude, too!  A bit of smoke obscured some of the further views (e.g., Mt. Adams, St. Helens), but not enough to shrink our smiles!  Absolutely a great day!

Van Trump Creek cascades

Unnamed Falls

Comet Falls

Unconcerned Marmot

Karen and friend

View from Van Trump Park towards Pyramid Peak

Red Indian Paintbrush

Mountain Hemlock and Comet Falls

More Photos

5-Star Moments

• Beauty of the back-lit falls just before Comet Falls!
• Big country of Van Trump Park!!!

Random Scenes

• Walking along the trail through Van Trump Park and focusing his foot placement on the trail, Tom is startled to find that he's about 3 feet away from a marmot!  This guy, like some National Park animals but atypical of marmots, wasn't worried about us in the least, and didn't have any sense of personal space!