Palisades Trail (#1198)

I rode from camp shepherd down white river trail up palisades to the ranger creek trail and back to camp shepherd. The first mile of switchbacks on 1198 you gotta hike a bike and it’s pretty grueling, but once you get onto the ridge it’s amazing single track climbing all the way up to the top where it meets ranger creek. Was an amazing descent, 14 miles and 5000ft of vertical. I think next time I’ll take the Dalles trail up, cut the climbing time down to get straight to the fun! Also if your taking pallisades down it’s amazing till the hike a bike section and could be pretty annoying after a long climb and descent to than have to hike a bike. If you wanna ride pallisades down id recommend shuttling it.

went on this trail today (6/24/18). It is a brutal climb to the top but definitely worth it. Gorgeous views of Mt Rainier. No snow at all. it was a warm day and a lot of hikers but not crowded. A few hikers with dogs.

Hiked to the third viewpoint today. Trail was in great shape and the views were phenomenal. loved the diversity of terrain and the Indian Paintbrush at the viewpoints.

Good trail, waterfalls, flowers, three view outlooks.

Very beautiful hike!

Set out early to beat today’s heat: 80-83 degrees and had the whole forest to myself! What a beautiful PNW spring day!! Perfect for a wooded hike - much of it is through beautiful shaded forest! Creek, waterfalls, beautiful greenery, and oh, the views of Rainier and the valley below!! I set out with a mindset of seeing how I would do, and ended up pushing myself for the full 12 miles (6 miles in to Little Ranger peak lookout and 6 out). Tighter switchbacks in the beginning lead to the waterfall...then meander through the forest for awhile...pretty soon opens to great look outs off and on (you THINK are great until they just get better and better the higher up you get!). Toward the end, there were a couple small snow patches on the trail, but super easy to go around. I would call this trail easy to follow, even though the rangers warned there might be debris to clear since they hadn’t been through there yet this year and because of the wild fires. I really saw no trace of fires hitting this area though, until the very end, you could look way across and see a peak in the distance with some burned trees. At the very end, the trail doesn’t QUITE get you up to the peak (thanks to Per, who stated this below so I had the heads up), so I had to off-road a bit, but it was a quick 5 minute jont up. I picniced up there, basking in the sun amidst breathtaking views of our mountain and surroundings. On the way back down, finally passed about 5 other hikers/groups of people but the first few hours was solitude! Took about 5 1/2 hours which included stopping for pictures along the way and lunch. What a great spring hike!!

Love this trail!

This is a great hike. We extended it beyond the trail to get to the top of the ridge for a better view. It was not as straightforward as we thought but it was worth the effort in the end! A little bit strange that no trail exists all the way to the top (at least to our knowledge). I mean that's where you want to go right.

Zero negative remarks. This is an all around perfect day hike.

Hiked trail to Dalles Falls. Went in off of 410 just past viewpoint. Mostly uphill does not flatten out much, but a pretty trail. the first creek you cross over you have to walk across rocks or walk through the water. If you have hiking boots you will be fine. Went on the 4th and only one other group on trail. Took our dogs, which is a bonus. Would love to go back and hike to the viewpoints. Could not do it this time because we went later in the day when it was cooler.

Beautiful hike! Accidentally drove past the entrance for first time around so just keep an eye out for the sign once you come close on your gps. The weather was sunny and about 65 degrees. The trail was nicely kept and a good workout for the calves. Definitely recommend it!!

6/22/2017 (Thursday) - Sunny, clear, cool, 50-70F. Up to the 2nd viewpoint, 6 miles out and back, very light traffic, very good condition. Falls are getting dry. Numerous switchbacks on the first mile up along the creek, being graded for an easier climb up the steep cliff. Flowers appear on the viewpoints. A biker dashes down, so must beware of bikes. Only a small part of Mt Rainier's top is in sight at 2nd viewpoint.

Amazing hike! We didn't finish the whole trail and it was amazing!

First part of hike is switch backs. Some are steep, others are rolling up and down.

First waterfall was spectacular and roaring. Second waterfall was beautiful and more serene.

After second waterfall, you have stairs and gentle switchbacks. You cross two creeks then your in the silent forest as I'd like to call it.

We turned around at the first ledge lookout.

We will definitely be going again!

P.S. heard there are still snow patches past the lookout on the way to the end of trail.

My wife and I joined Trail Mix to hike Palisades Trail. We went up to the second viewpoint. The weather was cloudy. My wife and I joined Trail Mix group to hike Palisades Trail. We went up to the second viewpoint. The weather was cloudy. The temperature at the trailhead was 48 F and 40 F at the top. There still was some snow just before the second viewpoint, but it was manageable with regular boots. Dalles Falls had high water volume and very impressive.

Found this by accident kinda.. Directly off 410 ..hardly any one there..we ran into 4 groups of people the whole time.. trail was dry untill we got to the snow probly 4 miles in.. fantastic view and Waterfalls

One of my favorite hikes! Lots of switchbacks but from the trailhead to the lookout it's only about and hour hike. The view at the lookout is incredible. There is a light dusting of snow at the upper forest area. Definitely would do it again

Excellent winter hike, could have used snowshoes after the upper waterfall. Made it halfway to the north snoquera point from the south point.

I went up late so there wasn't much time to waste. I went out and back to the first viewpoint. There is one large log across the switchback that you have to navigate over. The falls were raging after recent rains.

Hiked with my two dogs today and had a great time. Very good trail. Not busy at all. Beautiful viewpoint and waterfalls. Would recommend and will be back. Worth the drive.

Great out and back hike full day hike depending on your speed love being able to hit the summit on this trail.

Amazing hike. 6/25/16 great views waterfalls rocks and trees.

Hard to find off of 410 but don't give up! This is a great hike full of switchbacks making it a great workout. Plus, you get all the attractions: hillside view of creek, waterfall, large rock-wall formation, lookout view over the White River below. We got elevated up to the snow line in late April. It is 6.6 in and 6.6 out. So quite the hike (13.2 miles total).

excellent hike. only went to south point. first 2 miles are pretty steep, but after that its easy going. great views today. 65 I'm early March. great views of the mountain.

Great, well-maintained trail. Hiked mid-week and passed about 10 other hikers and 4 other dogs. Beautiful waterfalls and scenic overlooks.

Monday 6-2-2014: Mostly sunny, it was a good day to hike, not a great day. There were three other cars at the trailhead. The trail was in good condition. We hiked to Lower Dalles Creek Falls (1 mile from the trailhead), North Snoquera Point (3 miles from the trailhead), and South Snoquera Point (4.5 miles from the trailhead). Even though it was sunny, Mount Rainier was mostly shrouded in clouds. Trilliums are over and I did not see any calypso orchids. We met 13 hikers and 2 mountain bikers on the trail. The first one mile of the trail is steep and the rest is gentle. It is a nice trail. I just wished that I visited here when the flowers are in full bloom and Mount Rainier is visible.