Season: Summer Only (June–September)
Box Canyon is located along Stevens Canyon Road, which is open to vehicles during the summer season only, typically June through September.
Note: Stevens Canyon Road access to Box Canyon may vary due to the Stevens Canyon Road Rehabilitation Project. Check the project page for updates when planning your visit.
Box Canyon is a narrow slot canyon carved by the Muddy Fork of the Cowlitz River. The developed area includes an overlook, comfort station, picnic area, and a short loop trail.
The Box Canyon Bridge is part of Stevens Canyon Road and was built between 1950 and 1952 in the National Park Service rustic style. It is a spandrel arch bridge measuring 160 feet long and about 41 feet wide, with a veneer of native granite. The lower Box Canyon Overlook provides an excellent view of the bridge looking northwest toward Mount Rainier. From the bridge, look 180 feet down at the Muddy Fork of the Cowlitz River rushing through the narrow slot canyon.
About 100 feet west of the Box Canyon Bridge, Stevens Canyon Road passes through the Box Canyon Tunnel. The tunnel is 160 feet long. Unlike the other two tunnels in the park (one farther west along Stevens Canyon Road and one on SR 123), this tunnel does not have masonry-covered portals, and its walls are bare rock. The tunnel clearance is 12 feet, 6 inches. The Box Canyon Picnic Area is located just west of the tunnel.
The main Box Canyon parking area and comfort station are located east of the bridge. A short, paved path leads to the overlook.
The Box Canyon Loop Trail is 0.5 miles long and paved. Beginning on the east side of the Box Canyon Bridge, the trail follows the edge of the canyon northwest toward Mount Rainier, crosses the canyon on a wooden footbridge, then returns to Stevens Canyon Road along the opposite side. The western side of the trail includes several steps. Rounded, exposed bedrock borders the trail on the east side of the canyon. Look for fine striations, or scratches, across the rock's surface left behind by glaciers that once filled this canyon.
The Box Canyon Loop Trail connects to the Wonderland Trail, which crosses over the Stevens Canyon Road tunnel if heading northwest or climbs toward Indian Bar if heading northeast.
To the south, you can see the canyon below and the Cascade Mountains in the distance. Look north for a view of Mount Rainier on a clear day, and look down again to watch the river rushing far below.
The Box Canyon of the Cowlitz is located along Stevens Canyon Road and offers plenty of parking, restrooms, and other visitor amenities.
The Wonderland Trail, a pathway that circumnavigates Mount Rainier, also passes through this area.
