Sun Top Lookout

400

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/01/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

This is an easy drive on dry roads. The gate was open and the lookout was staffed. It's a great spot to spend a little time and view Mt Rainier. I would recommend vehicles with just a little clearance, but 2 wheel drive is just fine in dry roads.

Bill Gould

100

Temporary Closure

Visited: 09/21/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

The gate was closed today. The sign at the bottom of the hill says it will be closed if not staffed.

Joe

300

Temporary Closure

Visited: 07/04/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

The drive up was no problem in 4L in our FJ. However, the gate just beyond the final parking area prior to the summit was closed. Not sure if it was to keep 4th or July fireworks shooters from the top, or just because of snow or other road issues. Will try again in early August.

Tony

100

Impassable

Rated 4/5

Visited: 11/06/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Made it to about 800 yards from the top, multiple downed trees making the summit impassable.

Kevin

400

Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 09/01/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Easy road to navigate. Absolutely awesome in any weather. I was there twice recently. Once to scout the location for a wedding and the second time for the wedding. A must see for everyone.

Ryan Jung Lau

100

Partially Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/16/2021

Went up to suntop today after work. A few pot holes right when you pull onto FS73 but for the most part its an easy smooth ride. I made it to the top and parked, and as I parked and got out of the truck a FS Ranger appeared and told me I couldn't be up at the top. Apparently the gate is supposed to be locked due to repairs they are doing to the fire lookout tower, but someone had cut the lock. She said you can still come up but you have to park at the bottom of the hill and hike up to the lookout tower. Was unfortunate I didnt get to enjoy the views and no estimated date on when it will be officially reopened, but its an easy/fast trail to run.

ENDRES

100

Open

Visited: 12/03/2020

Made it within mile of top. Got buried in f150 4x4 with good chains. I would say 24 inches on road and 3 to 4 feet in ditch. Lots of ice. A lighter rig with wide tires would make it.

Ed Keeley

700

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/08/2020

Had a chance to run up to the top this morning (11-08-2020). Road is clean with a few potholes and some washboard. As you get closer to the top there is compacted snow on the road and at the top parking lot there is maybe 4" total accumulation. Gate to the lookout is locked and only available to walk to at this point. As of today there are still sedans and SUVs making the trip! Quick time lapse of the trip down from the top parking area in YouTube.

StuckPx

500

Open

Rated 3/5

Visited: 07/18/2020

We visited this after the Lonesome lake trail, the gate on the final stretch on Sun Top FS Rd is closed. The trail itself is fairly easy to do, the road I think can be very muddy, however, we went in mid-july so it had dried up but the vehicle still picked up quite a bit of mud which was ofcourse easy to wash off.

Trent Thompson

1850

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 11/02/2019

We actually went to Sun Top after visiting Lonesome Lake. As you're heading down Lonesome Lake FS-75, there is a right turn onto FS-73, which will take you all the way down the mountain and provide the hard right turn onto FS-7315 as per the instructions above. With that, it was a great, great day on the trails. The views were tremendous and it was a beautiful day. However, I expect the next rainfall will probably close some of these routes up for the season. As you can see from my photos, there were parts of FS-73 over the mountains that had a fair amount of snow/ice on the trail, but it was passable. Once at the top of Sun Top, the walk up provided great views of the surrounding area. Highly recommend next season, for sure.

Michael Graham

Official Crew

25850

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 08/11/2019

I had a really nice drive on this road to the Suntop. The views are spectacular and the "Fire Lookout Station" was really cool. Had a nice conversation with the volunteer couple that was staffing the tower.

Jason H Martin

2850

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 07/04/2019

Trail is in good shape. Some washboarding but there were plenty of non 4x4 vehicles parked in front of the final gate. Lots of dust. The gate 1mi before the lookout was closed but the lookout itself was open and manned. The best views appear to be past the final gate but the short .5mi hike (1mi if you walk the road) was well worth it. Difficulty was definitely in the 1-1.5 range.

Tony Newell

100

Seasonal Closure

Visited: 12/18/2016

The forest service road is now closed for the season. We drove up in the snow from entering onto FS 73 up to the gate and parking area (where this trail begins). There were plenty of folks playing in the snow and doing some snow hiking.

Grant Tebb

100

Open

Visited: 11/27/2016

At the time of this trip the actual lookout was closed and the weather was quite foggy from the summit. The last bit of the trail was closed for winter and I imagine will soon be covered in snow, when I made thew trip only the last bit was snowy.

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