Panther Creek (Mount Rainier National Park)
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| | Raps:1-4, max ↨40ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger Rock type:Granite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 11 Jul 2026
"Great day down panther. Canyon is pretty similar to past years. Developing a sneak entrance to r1 would be worth it.. R1 currently has no webbing |
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| Best season: | Jul-Sept
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46.7896, -121.5483
46.7862, -121.5546
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Introduction
Panther Creek is a short but very scenic canyon in Mount Rainier National Park. It is a high-flow creek with a large drainage and may be dangerous to run early in the season; the creek can flow high even into late summer. The canyon features some interesting geology and one of the biggest logjams you're likely to find in a canyon route in Washington. It is a very photogenic canyon that gets bonus points for an easy approach and exit. Make it a full day of canyons by combining Panther with either Deer Creek, just up the road, or Middle Summit Creek, only 20 minutes away.
Approach
There's parking on either side of the bridge. From the North side head up into the fairly open forest. Simply parallel the creek, staying just far enough away from the creek to avoid steep parts that appear and disappear. You may catch a few glimpses of the waterfalls in the canyon as you approach. Continue until you reach a wide gully at around 46.7896, -121.5493. Traverse down into the gully easily to the creek.
An alternative option is to drop-in early, aiming to land in the creek just downstream of the jog-jam. In 2024 this was done via a short steep & dirty down-climb followed by a 90ft dry-rappel. Finding a more sustainable approach which achieves cutting out awkward log-jam traversal would be a great goal.
Descent
As with any canyon, be sure to check any pools for depth before jumping. Some pools in this canyon can be surprisingly shallow.
While not very deep, there are sections of this creek that are committing, particularly the last 2 rappels. There are several potential emergency exit points within the canyon but could be quite exposed and have not been attempted.
Just downstream from the drop-in you'll encounter an enormous logjam. Navigate your way over the logs very carefully, as they can be deceivingly loose. DCL appears to be the easiest path. Just around the corner from the logjam you'll reach the first series of pools.
J1: 7' jump into a shallow pool, or downclimb DCR.
R1: 30' from a tree cluster up high DCR. This is a two-tier pool sequence. You will need to downclimb slightly DCR, then directly up to reach this anchor. Recommend LAPAR raps double strand as the tree branches have a tendency to stick blocks.
J2: Downclimb DCR to a jump platform for a 15’ jump into a deep pool.
J3: 7' jump, downclimb, or slide.
R2: 40' from a tree DCR. An exposed DCL traverse to the root ball of a huge log makes for a jump into the deep pool.
R3: 40' from an inspectable cairn anchor on the ledge DCR. Or jump from the ledge into a widening deep pool. An 8mm Petzl Pulse hole can be found at roughly chest-height at the far end of the ledge to back up the anchor. A technical climb allows this jump to be repeated. (In previous years it sounds like the water-course slot had been rappelled, but in 2024 a tree washed into the slot blocking the rappel and previous overhead logs used as anchors also washed out).
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Exit
Follow the creek back to the bridge and hike up to the road where your cars are waiting.
Red tape
Although the creek is inside the national park boundary, using SR 123 does not require a national parks pass or entry fee.
Beta sites
Trip reports and media
Background
Descended by Jake Huddleston and Kevin Steffa in October 2019. Webbing was found at the last drop indicating the canyon had been previously descended by another group. No signs of fixed anchors anywhere else in canyon. Date of first descent unknown.