Bench and Snow Lake Trail in Mt Rainier National Park is a pleasant and easy 2.5 miles roundtrip to pretty lakes surrounded by steep walled cirque valley mountains. Along the way are closeup views of trees and flowers, while Mt Rainer looms large in the background. It’s a great strolling hike and family friendly. And when the summer crowds are out of control at Paradise, this can be a nice offshoot to explore with a lot fewer people around.

Bench Lake from trail viewpoint in Mt Rainier National Park

Bench Lake from trail viewpoint



View of Mt Rainier from Bench and Snow Lake Trail in Mt Rainier National Park

View of Mt Rainier



Boulder field along Bench and Snow Lake Trail in Mt Rainier National Park

Boulder field along Bench and Snow Lake Trail



Snow Lake and weathered logs from trail in Mt Rainier National Park

Snow Lake and weathered logs



Kids on logs by Snow Lake in Mt Rainier National Park

Kids on logs by Snow Lake



Snow Lake from trail in Mt Rainier National Park

Snow Lake