Crystal Mountain Resort
Crystal Mountain, Washington
About a 90-minute drive outside of Seattle, Crystal Mountain sits in the Cascade Mountains range, adjacent to Mount Rainier. At Crystal Mountain Resort, a property most known as a ski destination, groups can try snowshoeing during a guided hike on the mountain.
“It’s wonderful because anyone can do it,” said Wendy Owen, who guides many of the resort’s snowshoe hikes. “We provide all of the gear you need, and we strap snowshoes onto your boots. I teach people how to walk with the snowshoes, and they pick it up really quickly.”
Once participants are confident on their new equipment, the group loads up on the ski resort’s chair lifts and rides up the mountain to begin their hikes. Guides monitor weather and conditions on the mountain and pick out starting points and routes based on the group’s ability.
“I take them to places that are beautiful and remote,” Owen said. “We head out into the backcountry and go on some trails. For most of these people, it’s their first time, and they really feel like they’re in the middle of nowhere. We go out into the trees, and there can be anywhere from two to 10 feet of snow on the ground.”
Owen said most of the tours last about two and a half hours and cover about four miles on the way down the mountain.
Groups that book private snowshoeing tours can choose to have excursions at various times of the day or even after sunset, when they will be outfitted with headlamps. Many group leaders arrange for the tours to end back at the lodge with drinks and a fondue dinner.
