South Puyallup Trail

Known as the South Puyallup Trail, this access point to the Wonderland Trail is a connector 1.7 miles long that wends its way through a mature forest with trees ranging between 100 to 1000 years old. The variety of ecosystems make this hike an alluring one: visitors start in the lower elevations, surrounded by western redcedar, Douglas fir, yew and western hemlock. But as you climb, you'll see Pacific silver fir, western white pine, noble fir, and the rare Alaska yellow cedar.

Your route ascends alongside the South Puyallup River, where in 2006 it overran its banks and spilled into lower sections of the forest. It took until 2019 to get a reroute in place, when crews moved the trail up the hill and out of flooding danger. 

Crews installed puncheons, turnpikes, check steps, and bridges to keep the trail sustainable, and they add some variety to the trail underfoot as you wander through the forest. Where the trail gets close to the South Puyallup River head out to the rocky stream bed for lunch, watch the torrential glacier stream cascading down the mountain side, or gaze up at the largest peak in the Cascades.