Dubbed the “American Alps”, North Cascades National Park is home to a range of jagged snow-capped peaks whose slopes hold more than 300 glaciers. The waters that flow forth from these glaciers foster the growth of lush, enchanting forests in deep valleys below, which lie laced with crystal clear streams that feed more than 500 turquoise lakes.
Guide to North Cascades
North Cascades National Park
Situated deep in the wilderness of northern Washington’s Cascade mountains, this park is as rugged and remote a place as you will find in the contiguous states. The park only greeted some 30,000 guests in 2017, making it one of our least visited parks, a fact that may seem quite surprising since its western gates lie a mere 110 miles from the Seattle metro area.
National Park Complex?
The North Cascades National Park Service Complex is unique, as the name may suggest to those familiar with “parkspeak”. This 684,237 acre unit exists as a combination of three separate entities: North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. The national park section is divided into two units: north and south.
The strange bureaucratic formation of this “complex” was designed in the late 1960s to appease both preservationists and those who feared that a national park would affect traditional recreational activities in the area, such as hunting. Thus, today the Ross Lake and Lake Chelan NRAs allow hunting and the Ross Lake area contains three hydroelectric reservoirs that provide about 25% of the power used in nearby Seattle.
Some 94% of these protected areas lie within the 635,000 acres of the Stephan Mather Wilderness Area, which adjoins numerous other surrounding wilderness areas. When these lands are combined with the public lands managed by our fine friends across the border in Canada, they total more than 3 million acres. Not bad, eh?
Where is North Cascades?
The scenic wonders of Washington State never cease, and they only exceed expectations in the northwest’s signature Cascade Mountain Range. The North Cascades are a smaller section the larger range. The park is found in the northwestern region of the state and the park’s northern boundary is the Canadian border.
Just to the west is the Mount Baker Wilderness, and to the east is the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. To the south of the park is the Wenatchee National Forest. As I mentioned earlier, you may tell from the surrounding names, there is a lot of wilderness here.
The park located about 80 miles east of Bellingham on Washington Highway 20 and the park is about a 3-hour-drive from Seattle, considering light traffic on I-5 of course. If the traffic leaving the city is heavy, give yourself an extra day or two…
Exploring North Cascades
North Cascades National Park itself is the least accessible of the three areas that comprise the “complex”. The “national park” section is divided into north and south units by the Ross Lake NRA which straddles the North Cascades Highway, the only continuous east-west roadway passage in this area of the Cascade Mountains. The north unit of the national park has no road access at all and the southern unit of the park is serviced by only one rough, yet enjoyable scenic road.
North Unit
The northern unit of the national park is remote and rugged. For its size, there are relatively few trails which lead deep into the northern wilderness.
Most of the well-travelled trails enter from the Mount Baker Wilderness, to the west of the national park. The Little Beaver and Big Beaver Creek Trails combine to provide intimate access to the interior of the park’s northern region and can be accessed from Ross Lake.
See the activities section for more information on the opportunities available in this area.
South Unit
The south unit is much easier to access, but still requires some effort. There is only one route by which an auto can access the park’s southern region. The drive is visually stimulating, yet views are limited to the valley in which the road is situated, but if you feel like pounding out some miles on foot… Well then, the world is yours.
The Cascade River Road, a 23-mile mostly dirt and gravel road, turns south off the North Cascades Highway in Marblemount and travels through Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The road passes a turnoff that provides access to the Hidden Lake Trail, before terminating at the trailhead for the Cascade Pass Trail, inside the boundary of the national park. This road is typically open in summer and early fall only.
The two main trails that depart from this area are the Hidden Lake Trail, and the Cascade Pass Trail. Both offer access to breathtaking views and are top-rated hikes. The Cascade Pass Trail opens a number of options to the mile-munching hiker. Trails from here wind into the southern region of the park, where possibilities for routes are endless. One option is to continue south into the Lake Chelan Recreation Area, and its village outpost of Stehekin.
The wilderness of the southern unit can also be accessed from Highway 20 by hiking south from the Ross Lake Recreation Area on a number of trails, or by hiking in from the park’s east side, once again from Highway 20. Easy Pass and Rainy Pass have trails that lead up, up, up and into the wild.
Check out the activities page for a list of the hikes that can be accessed in this region.
Ross Lake
The easiest area to explore in “the complex” is the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, home to Washington Highway 20, one of the most scenic drives in the state. Along the route, numerous pullouts give stunning views of clear, colorful lakes such as Diablo Lake and 24-mile long Ross Lake, as it meanders along the Skagit River. Virtually all of the park’s visitor facilities and campgrounds are found along this highway, as is most of the park’s congestion, if you can actually call it that…
In summer, these turquoise waters are popular with boaters and paddlers. There are numerous opportunities for canoeing or kayaking on Diablo Lake, launching from the Colonial Creek Campground. Similar activities are possible on Ross Lake, but paddlers must portage gear about a mile to get to the lake. Boat launch ramps for trailered boats are only available in Canada on the north end of Ross Lake.
Boat tours are available via the North Cascades Institute on Ross Lake, and the Ross Lake Resort offers portage and shuttle service to more remote regions such as Desolation Peak, where famed beat-writer Jack Kerouac worked in a fire tower back in 1956, prior to his penning of Dharma Bums and Desolation Angles.
Of course, adventure seekers can opt to hike to these remote destinations, and a system of trails can take you there. See the activities page for a more complete description of the possibilities in the Ross Lake area.
Lake Chelan
Perhaps the most intriguing area of the park is the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, which is nestled neatly into the park’s southern reaches. The recreation area encompasses the northern section of the 55-mile-long Lake Chelan’s, which is the nation’s third deepest lake at nearly 1,500′ deep.
All guests to the Lake Chelan Rec Area and its isolated outpost village, Stehekin, put in some serious miles on the park’s rugged mountain trails, or arrive by floatplane or boat from the south, as there are no roads into this area.
See the visiting section for more information and for links to the ferry services on Lake Chelan.
Stehekin
This remote community is home to less than 100 year-round residents. Life is isolated here, and there is a limited amount of outside contact, which makes it heaven in a sense.
The village has it all… well not really, but it has all you need. There are a number of lodging and dining options and plenty of hiking options. I think nearby waterfalls outnumber eateries here, so that’s a nice statistic.
The Golden West Visitor Center is located near Stehekin Landing, where the ferry and commercial vessels dock upon arrival. There are shuttle services available in the village, but a bicycle is probably the best option for an active schedule. Those arriving by boat can bring their own, but hikers probably will likely lack such luxurious options. If you need a bike here, check out Discovery Bikes, just north of the visitor center.
See the visiting section for a complete rundown on getting to and staying in Stehekin.
Playtime
With a landscape as incredible as this, you’ll want to get out there and explore. Luckily, there are a number of pursuits that will put you right where you’ll want to be in North Cascades.
Hiking in North Cascades
Nearly 400 miles of hiking trails are found within the park. These portals quickly transport souls weary from rat-race bullshit directly toward a spiritual rebirth in the warm confines a Pacific Northwest wilderness filled with deep, river-carved valleys and glaciated peaks. This wilderness will challenge the stamina and fortitude of the most rugged park junkies. This place is wild…
Mountaineering
Mountaineering opportunities are endless in North Cascades. Rugged, remote peaks, the mere names of which will intimidate the average arm-chair-mountaineer who reads of them while enjoying the crackle of the fireplace in his or her comfy abode. Mount Despair, Mount Challenger, Mount Fury, Damnation Peak, Desolation Peak, and my personal favorite, the ever so charming, Mount Terror…
Such rocky summits rise high above river drainages and most access to the park’s high country will involve a forested ascent of more than 5,000 feet on a trail whose steep switchbacks seem unending. Upon the dedicated alpinist’s emergence from the trees, a land of glistening glaciers and snowfields greets those who dare tread here. This is the most glaciated national park in the lower 48.
Historic Tours
For those who enjoy historical tours, the Seattle City Light Power Company offers limited tours of the dams and powerhouses along the Skagit as well as scenic boat trips on Diablo Lake. You certainly won’t want to miss their “Dam Good Chicken Dinner and Falls Tour”, which includes a home style chicken dinner, followed by an evening stroll through the Ladder Falls area, which is lit up by colorful lights at night for visitors… a unique event in national parks…. Hey, it’s historical… See their link in the visiting page.
Be sure to scour the activities and visiting pages for this park to obtain a more complete picture of what you can do to entertain yourself here. I can’t imagine you’ll find a place more perfect for straight getting after it…
Park Junkie Verdict
What does Park Junkie think of North Cascades? Well, here’s a real quick story that should sum it up.
During the summer of 2018, I traveled into the east side of North Cascades and searched out a campsite at the Gorge Lake Campground. I planned to spend three days in the park before heading on. I hiked that day, and the next, and the next… and the next…
I was fortunate to have an extremely flexible schedule, so I extended my stay indefinitely and continued to tick off adventures in the park. I blasted out a number of fantastic day hikes, kayaked on Ross Lake and Diablo Lake, and climbed Mount Sahale. Finally, after a successful summit of Mount Shuksan on my second attempt in three days, I reluctantly decided it was probably time to go.
I had lost track of time, and had no real idea of how long I had been in the park. Upon checking my calendar on the iPhone and comparing it to the dates on my photos, I found that I had been in the park for 14 days.
I straight up love this place! Be careful though, you may forget to go home…
See ya there…
Guide to North Cascades
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