Crystal Mountain
Key Info
(technical difficulty)
(physical difficulty)Stats
General
Crystal Mountain is a great 14 mile loop. It has some grueling climbs, beautiful ridges, great scenery, alpine lakes & wildflower meadows, steep sections, exposed switchbacks, and, if the summit house is open, a chance to buy some burgers and fries at the top.
Parts of this trail (mainly the Northway climb) can get mighty dusty and sandy in the summer; much better after a good rain. Horses use this trail and sometimes leave "obstacles" on the trail. Be careful after a big equestrian weekend. Also, keep your head up and eyes open for hikers on the descent. Usually snow covered until late June or July. Snow lingers in the Campbell Basin and Silver Basin areas even longer.
From Enumclaw take route 410 to the Crystal Mountain Road(if you enter Mt. Rainier Park you've driven too far) and turn left. Drive up this road about 4 or 5 miles depending on how you want to do the loop. If you are doing the loop clockwise park at 4 miles up the road next to dirt road 7190-410 on the left. This is the start of the route and is gated in 100 feet or so. If you are doing it counterclockwise continue up the Crystal Mountain Road another mile and turn right on the first dirt road past the horse camp. Follow this road to the base of the ski run called Northway (parking lot here). The trail goes off to the right from this lot. You may need a NW Forest Pass to park here. Alternatively, you can park at the Crystal base area main lot (no permit required) and ride the road down the TH - this is probably easiest to find.
There is a trailhead at the top of Gold Hills chairlift. You could probably take the gravel road that the homes up there use but I would just park in the main crystal lot and go to the top of Gold Hills. I recommend this as a starting point as opposed to the old Northway drop spot. If you start at the bottom of Northway, you will spend 90% of your time walking your bike up. It's a grind to say the least.
This trail is described counter-clockwise.
Begin on trail 1163. Within a few hundred yards you will enter the forest and begin the grind. If you are not in good shape you will be walking lots of the next few miles. Eventually the trail breaks out into avalanche swathes with views of Norse Peak and Bullion Basin. After about 3(?) miles of climbing you will crest the ridge and get a closeup view of Mt. Rainier and the White River valley. But don't think the climbing stops here! Follow the trail as it switchbacks up the ridge - sometimes running right along the ridge crest sometimes on one side or the other. Views just keep getting better and better. You will enter into the Crystal Mountain ski area at about 6.5 miles. One more mile of cat track and you pop up next to the Green Valley Chairlift with the summit house a few hundred yards away.
To descend the loop go back towards the Green Valley Chair and take a left turn behind the ridge to get to Powder Pass and Powder Basin - this part of the trail is a cat track. Follow this trail into the basin going past a tarn and looping across a major face into Campbell Basin. WARNING: This 100 yard part of the trail is exposed, loose, and subject to rockfall - you may want to walk it here. At about 9 miles into the ride you will pass Miner's Lake - enjoy the next sections of rooty rocky trail and gradually traverse around until you see Hen Skin Lake. Lots of trail here but they all converge on the other side of the lake. From here you are very close to the ski area. Soon as you leave the lake you will reach a cat track -- go RIGHT here up a quick hill and the trail continues. At a 4 way trail intersection continue on trail 1192(Silver Lake Trail). Now the descent becomes fast as the trail traverses down toward the ski area. At about 12 miles cross the ski area and keep going straight - first on cat track then on logging road finally reaching the Crystal Mountain Road. A quick left here and 100 yards up the road is a trail to the Horse Camp. Take this trail down to the creek, cross the bridge, hit the logging road, take a right, and come back to the start.