South Mowich Trail Shelter
in Washington · centroid 52 mi from Seattle
The South Mowich Trail Shelter was built circa 1980 and is compatible with the design of earlier historic trail shelters built along the Wonderland Trail, with its log, three-sided “salt-box” design. However, it was built later in the park’s history and is not a contributing structure to the Mount Rainier National Historic District. It is one of three remaining trail shelters (in addition to the Summerland and Indian Bar shelters), which are still important stopping points along the Wonderland Trail.
The shelters are significant in their association with early recreational use of the park as they continue to be used by hikers as shelter from the mountain’s unpredictable climate. The South Mowich Trail Shelter replaced the North Mowich Trail Shelter which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934. It was located on the north bank of the North Mowich River.
When surveyed in 1981, the supervisory landscape architect said, “It is a model of good log construction”. However, the shelter deteriorated with rotting logs and no longer exists.
- States
- Washington
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Seattle, WA · 52 mi · ~1.5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 46.9131°, -121.8938°
About Mount Rainier National Park
This trail is inside Mount Rainier National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $30 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/south-mowich-trail-shelter.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked South Mowich Trail Shelter and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Sunset Park Trail Shelter
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Peak Two Trail #268
6 miles from this trail's centroid
Wonderland Trail
7 miles from this trail's centroid
Northern Loop Trail
8 miles from this trail's centroid
Glacier View Trail #267
8 miles from this trail's centroid
Puyallup Trail #248
8 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.