Dege Peak via Sourdough Ridge Trail

Starting from the Sunrise parking area, you'll follow a well-maintained path along Sourdough Ridge as it winds through carpets of lupine and paintbrush in late summer. The trail rolls gently upward with a few short switchbacks — nothing brutal, but enough to get your heart rate up. The ridge walk itself is the main event: you're fully exposed above treeline with drop-dead views in every direction. Mount Rainier dominates the southern skyline so completely it almost looks fake, while Baker and Glacier Peak float on the northern horizon like distant sentinels. The final push to Dege Peak's summit rewards you with a full 360-degree panorama that ranks among the best view-to-effort ratios in the entire park. This is the trail you bring visiting friends on when you want to blow their minds without destroying their knees.