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Summit

The Castle

Washington

About

The Castle is a summit of 6,457 feet in Washington's Mount Rainier Wilderness, inside Mount Rainier National Park. The National Park Service manages the land, and the nearest town is Packwood, about 11 miles away. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. A nearby weather station at Paradise records typical July highs around 62°F and lows near 44°F, and the summit sits roughly 1,000 feet higher, so expect cooler temperatures up top. Pinnacle Peak lies just 0.4 miles away and the Tatoosh Range climbing area is about half a mile off. For a longer outing, Cougar Rock Campground is about 3 miles away, and the Nisqually River offers canoeing a little farther out.

Summit Facts

Summit elevation

6,457 ft

Land manager

National Park Service

Elevation from USGS 3D Elevation Program terrain data (about 10 m resolution).

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Location

The Castle

Washington

Name and location: U.S. Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program. View the GNIS record.

Facts about this place

When to go

Best time to go: Jul–Aug. The mildest months here, with typical highs of 62–64°F and lows of 44–45°F.

Typical monthly averages (not a forecast) from the Rainier Paradise Rs, WA weather station, 2.1 mi away. High / low in °F.

  1. Jan34° high24° low
  2. Feb34° high23° low
  3. Mar36° high24° low
  4. Apr40° high26° low
  5. May48° high33° low
  6. Jun54° high37° low
  7. Jul62° high44° low
  8. Aug64° high45° low
  9. Sep57° high41° low
  10. Oct46° high33° low
  11. Nov37° high26° low
  12. Dec33° high22° low

The station sits about 1,000 ft lower than this spot, so expect it to run cooler up here.

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020

Where it is

Nearest town
Packwood, Washington · 11 mi
Managed by
National Park Service

Source: Wilderness.net boundaries; NPS Land Resources boundaries; USGS PAD-US 4.1; USGS GNIS populated places

Conditions

Active alerts for Mount Rainier National Park as of Oct 9, 2026:

Source: NPS Alerts API

Nearby

Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)

    The Castle — Summit in Washington | Roamze