From the word go, we knew that Claudia and Zach were our people. Come along on a beautiful, Leave No Trace friendly, sunset hiking elopement within Mount Rainier National Park.

Wanting to get married on public land? Unsure of how to make that happen? We’ve answered some of our most frequently asked questions from couples wanting to know how to elope in a National Park or on public lands.

We met Laura and Drew at the trailhead at 3:30am, and began our hike in the dark with only headlamps lighting the way. Our goal? To reach the Mount Fremont lookout before the sun rose, so they could say their elopement vows with the colorful peak of Mount Rainier lighting up behind them.

Zion National Park is home to some truly iconic hikes and elopement locations. We spent a few days scouting out two of the most popular: Canyon Overlook and Scout’s Lookout to walk you through one of the easiest and one of the hardest hikes in the park.