NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK
One of the most beautiful National Parks in America has to be the North Cascades National Park. Located in Northern Washington just south of the Canadian border sits over 500,000 acres of beautiful terrain filled with glaciers, evergreens, wildlife, and remarkably blue alpine lakes. North Cascades National Park has something for everyone! Whether that’s paddle boarding or boating, hiking, rock climbing, camping, bird watching, biking, or fishing, there’s activities to do inside the park to keep you entertained for days!
My husband, Adam, and I visited the North Cascades during the Summer of 2023 while we were living in Washington. From Seattle, the drive is only about 2 and a half hours North, depending on traffic of course. Visiting during the Summer is best because most trails and roads will be open. You can go swimming in the beautiful lakes and will have access to much more of the park than in the winter. However, with the summer comes forest fires.
FOREST FIRES
Forest fires can wreak havoc in places such as the North Cascades. For safety reasons, for both people and nature, fires can cause road, trail, and park closures. Therefore, trying to plan around a forest fire is nearly impossible. If this happens to you, don’t fret. Washington is home to multiple beautiful National Parks, an epic coastline, and national forests with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. So, I promise changing plans would not be the end of the world!
Just before our planned trip to the Cascade Mountains, there was a large forest fire. It closed a lot of the main roads, the popular hiking trails, and access to some of the beautiful lakes. However, there was still a lot we could do! We decided to continue on with our trip, knowing that we wouldn’t get to see everything we wanted, but were fortunate enough to see a majority of it! So, let’s get to our short, but EPIC adventure in the North Cascades National Park!
HIKING IN THE NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK
North Cascades National Park is separated into three sections, North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Chelan Lake National Recreation Area. Because of how large an area the National Park and Recreational areas take up, there are an endless amount of epic hiking trails. But if you’re not sure where to start I would highly suggest hiking the Cascade Pass & Sahale Arm Trail. This hike is 11.6 miles long with an elevation gain of 3,963 ft. It’s quite the trek; however, if you’re looking for a short, less intense, but very rewarding hike, you could hike just to the Cascade Pass on this trail which is only 7 miles long with an elevation gain of 1,784 ft.
CASCADE PASS TRAIL
Throughout the Cascade Pass Trail, you will hike switchbacks through the forest, hike on the edge of a mountain side, passing over centuries worth of rockfall and scree fields, witness incredible glacier views, and hear squeaks and squeals from the neighborhood pikas.
Once you come to Cascade Pass, a vast breathtaking opening between two mountain ridgelines, you can choose to continue on the Sahale Trail or go back down the way you came. We decided to continue on. From there it’s a rock scramble to the top of Doubtful Lake. Adam was on a mission to dive into as many Washington lakes as possible, so he made his way down to the lake to add another one to the list while I admired the view from the top. (Adding another ~500 ft of elevation gain wasn’t on my list for that day).
The great thing about hiking is you can turn around at any point. Completing hikes is always satisfying and we would’ve loved to finish the Sahale Trail and make it to the summit of Sahale Glacier, but we had a long way back to our campground. Additionally, Adam was just getting over a bout of COVID, and this was my first hike in a couple months after a broken foot. We felt incredibly satisfied with the hike we had done and knew that the Cascade Pass Trail would forever hold a spot in our top 5 favorite hikes of all time!
*NOTES*
ADDITIONAL HIKING TRAILS
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to hike all the trails we would’ve liked to with the forest fire closures and the amount of time we had; however, we have so many trails on our list and hopefully one day we’ll get to go back and complete them. But for now, you can hike them for us! Be sure to let us know which ones we must check out for next time!
CAMPING/OVERNIGHT STAYS
CAMPING/BACKPACKING
There are many ways to stay overnight in or near North Cascades National Park. First off, you can camp. There are a handful of campgrounds spread throughout the park. We decided to stay at Newhalem Creek Campground. The sites were spacious, tucked in a rainforest like setting, and had the sound of the roaring Skagit Creek to soothe us to sleep. Prices can range from $24-$75 depending on group size and location of the site. This campground was in a great location, which was just down the road from the Visitor Center and other popular points of interests. A lot of the campgrounds will close in the off season, so be sure to check their schedule ahead of time. If you’re still interested in camping during the winter, you can also backpack by obtaining a permit which can be purchased year-round.
AIRBNB’S
If you’re not interested in camping, there are a lot of unique Airbnbs to rent out in the area. Because my parents were meeting up with us the next day, we decided to forgo camping and book a treehouse in the woods. From the park it was about an hour drive, but it was well worth it! This rustic treehouse is nestled in the woods, has a pond with a waterfall, a bathhouse, and makes for the coziest overnight stay. I highly recommend staying here!
ROSS LAKE RESORT
If you would like to visit the North Cascades and enjoy an epic stay inside the park you could plan ahead and try and stay at Ross Lake Resort. But fair warning, this resort books up FAST and has a waitlist. With only 15 cabins overlooking the lake with the mountains in the background, Ross Lake Resort makes for a beautiful destination getaway!
FOOD & DRINKS
Unfortunately, access to food and drinks inside the park is fairly limited with most restaurants being in the little towns outside of the park. When we visit National Parks, especially the ones that are a bit more remote like North Cascades, we expect this to typically be the case. Therefore, we normally pack our own food for at least breakfast and lunch, but it’s nice to get a filling dinner somewhere else, if possible.
RESTAURANTS
For dinner, we decided to travel back West on Hwy 20 to Marblemount. This is a little town about 20 minutes outside the Western entrance of the park that thrives mostly on tourists, as it’s the nearest place for food and gas services. The choices were few, but we decided to stop in at the Upriver Grill & Taproom.
As the gateway to the “American Alps”, this mountain-themed restaurant offers a diverse dining experience with a menu that caters to all tastes, from hearty comfort food to locally source PNW specialties. For those looking for a drink, you’ll find a large selection of local draft beers, craft cocktails, and an extensive whiskey collection. Dining is available both indoor, at the bar, or on the outdoor patio (we love an outdoor patio), where the furry friends are allowed (added bonus). So, whether you’re fueling up before your park adventures or celebrating after a day of exploration like we did, the Upriver Grill & Taproom is a great place to enjoy the flavors and spirit of the Pacific Northwest.
If you don’t stop in at Marblemount, you’ll have to keep traveling further West and stop along the way in Rockport or Concrete, other small towns off of Hwy 20. If you happened to be exiting/enter from the East side of the park, the closest town with restaurants will be Mazama and Winthrop, which are much further from the main areas of the park. Again, when in doubt, plan on bringing your own food or know you will have to drive a decent way to get your belly full!
NORTH CASCADES WILDLIFE
National Parks are a great place to search for wildlife! Each park is home to hundreds of different species of wildlife. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see a handful of them. We were very lucky on our short trip to the North Cascades National Park!
BLACK BEARS
During our hike on Cascade Pass Trail, we had a black bear run out right in front of us, about 10 yards away! It was crazy. Luckily, it just got spooked and ran into hiding. This is why it is so important to carry bear spray with you on hikes, especially hiking trails where known wildlife is active. Most of the time you can just clap your hands, whistle, and say “Hey, bear” loudly without having to use your bear spray. But it never hurts to be prepared. This is especially true because this area is home to many brown bears as well, which pose a higher risk to your safety, if you’re unprepared.
PICAS/MARMOTS
Throughout this same hike, we also saw loads of picas scattered throughout the forest and rocks. It was fun listening to them squeal and watching them scurry around eating, socializing, and stocking up their homes. Another popular animal in the area were marmots. Marmots are cool because they just want to eat and sunbathe all day long. They mind their business and keep to themselves and are only interested in laying on rocks and soaking up the sun. Sounds pretty nice to me.
MOUNTAIN GOATS
On our way back down from the hike, it was getting to be dinner time. We rounded a corner and my senses were tingling that something was on the other side of the bend. I was right. A momma mountain goat and her kid were enjoying some snacks on the trails just 15 yards away and headed directly towards us. The trail was tight, so we did our best to get out of the way and let them pass. We were in awe at how protective the momma was and how unconcerned the kid was. They passed with no problem and me and Adam high fived after, realizing what an incredibly unique wildlife encounter we just had. It was awesome!
Therefore, keep your eyes peeled and your senses alert because you never know what you might see in the North Cascades National Park.
POINTS OF INTERESTS
North Cascades National Park has so many great sights to see! Whether you’re in the car driving, walking across a suspension bridge, or admiring a beautiful lake, the park is packed full of stop-worthy destinations.
LAKES
WATERFALLS
STOPPING POINTS
As short as our trip to the North Cascades National Park was, we sure did have an epic adventure! We would love to go back again and hike more scenic trails, visit Ross Lake, and check out more of the park that was closed due to the fire. But for now, we will remember this park as a truly magnificent National Park not only in Washington, but in the world. Be sure to check it out yourself and let us know what your favorite part was! Feel free to contact us for more information about National Parks, Washington suggestions, or anything Travel PT related. You can also check out our Washington Page for more fun and epic adventures in Washington! Have fun and be safe out there.