A Weekend Backpacking Trip on the Kautz Creek Trail in Mount Rainier National Park (Winter)

Kautz Creek to Henry's Hunting Ground is a relatively avalanche-safe route to try out one-day snowshoeing or two-day winter backpacking at Mount Rainier National Park.

The trail routes through the forest for about 3 miles then meanders through beautiful snow-covered alpine meadows. The trail ends at Henry's Cabin which has since been renovated into a Ranger Station, but there are plenty of cross-country wilderness zones in the area to camp at.

Be sure to keep an eye on weather and avalanche warnings in the area as conditions here are rapidly changing! We referenced the weather forecast at Paradise, which is a similar elevation.

Adventure Stats

Hiked on: November 27, 2022

Hike Time: 5hrs in / 4hrs out

Weather: 20F / 14F snowy

Popularity: Extremely low, we didn't run into another group beyond Kautz Creek

Route Finding: Difficult, requires a GPS, off trail navigation skills, and route finding in the snow.

Trail Hazards: Deep snow, possible avalanche hazards, no running water source

Key Sights: Mountains, snow, forests

Gear Recommendations: Insulative boots and snowshoes required beyond 5000ft

The Route

Distance: 10.7mi out-and-back

Elevation: +3357ft/-414ft (one-way)

Location: Mount Rainier National Park

Direct Link to Trailhead: Google Maps

Direct Link to Route: Caltopo

A map of Mount Rainier National Park's Longmire area showing the Kautz Creek Snowshoe Trail marked in red — Out-and-back trail from Kautz Creek Trailhead to Henry's Hunting Ground

Planning on a backpacking trip? Here are nearby cross-country wilderness zones. Be sure to note the 4-letter code when you sign up for your permit at the Longmire Museum.

A map of Mount Rainier's National Park's Longmire area with cross-country zones demarked. The Kautz Creek Snowshoe trail is marked in red. — Cross-country wilderness zones along the Kautz Creek route. We chose XPYR

Information about the elevation, slove, aspect, tree cover, and land cover of the Kautz Creek Snowshoe trail — Terrain stats (one-way)

Trail Report

We arrived at the Longmire Museum to pick up permits at around 9:30am and snagged a permit in the cross-country zone around Pyramid Peak.

The Kautz creek streambed with no water flowing during wintertime — The Kautz Creek streambed, not a drop of water in sight

We started at the Kautz Creek trailhead. The first mile of the trail is relatively flat until you reach the Kautz Creek crossing. At this time of year, there was no risk of getting your feet wet at Kautz Creek since the water level was very low and crossable on a log bridge.

The Kautz Creek trail of Mount Rainier National Park in the forested portion — The trail as it begins to ascend up through the forest

The trail then begins to ascend uphill through the forest. The switchbacks can feel like a slog. When we started on Saturday, there was no snow along the switchback portion of the trail, but on our way back on Sunday, the trail was covered with a thin sheet of snow.

Snow covered pine trees and a snow covered ridge viewed from the Kautz Creek Trail at Mount Rainier National Park in winter — A winter wonderland

Around mile 3, the trail pops you out of the forest through a series of beautiful snow meadows with some narrow, steep routes bridging the meadows. As you leave the forest, route finding becomes increasingly difficult and requires off-trail navigation to ensure that you stay on the right path. Caltopo is our favorite GPS app, but we've heard good things about Gaia as well.

At the time of writing, snowshoes were not strictly required once we exited the forest, and snow conditions were manageable with insulated boots and gaiters. As you approach 5000ft, snowshoes become extremely helpful, especially if hiking this route shortly after it snows.

Some of the routes bridging the meadows were extremely narrow, with only enough room for about 1.5 snowshoes side-to-side. Trekking poles or an ice axe are recommended for additional stability in these steep, narrow sections.

The blog owner of The Wild Compiled finding a snowman on the Kautz Creek Snowshoe trail in Mount Rainier National Park while backpacking — I made a friend!

To our pleasant surprise, we also came across a snowman that somebody had left behind. If you swing by in the next weekend or two, you might still be able to catch him!

Views of Mount Rainier on a clear winter day from the Kautz Creek snowshoe trail — Gorgeous views of Mount Rainier from the trail

If you hike this route on a clear day, you can see beautiful views of Mount Rainier as you approach the end of the route

Be sure to budget plenty of time, especially with slower hiking speeds through the snow and the sunsetting much earlier than usual in wintertime. We arrived at Henry's Cabin (technically "Indian Henry's" but c'mon National Park Services) at around 3pm.

Indian Henry's Cabin located near Indian Henry's Hunting Ground in Mount Rainier National Park with Mount Rainier visible behind the cabin. — Henry's Cabin covered in snow

We ended up setting up camp in an exposed meadow shortly passed Henry's Cabin. In retrospect, I recommend setting up camp in a wind sheltered area, perhaps surrounded by trees.

It ended up snowing over a foot overnight. Wind reports were around 16mph at similar elevations, and because we were exposed, our tent was billowing loudly all night long.

Closing Thoughts

I can't recommend this trail enough! On a clear day, the views are some of the best I have ever seen.

That being said, in wintertime, this is NOT a beginner-friendly backpacking trip. We had 4 experienced backpackers on the trip and the conditions at night were treacherous. Despite being prepared, we still ended up with unexpected gear failure including broken snowshoe straps and one of our stoves failing to light.