North Cascades National Park is in the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington State. It is considered one of the most under visited parks in the whole united states because it is often overshadowed by Washingtons other National Parks: Olympic and Mt Rainier
Basic Information:
- The park is free to get into but a lot of the really good hiking trails are actually in the National Forest area which you do need either a National Forest Pass or an America the Beautiful Parks Pass
-The park is only accessible late May through late September so plan your visit wisely. All other times of the year the road is shut down.
- There are plenty of places to camp within the park. We had a one year old baby so we decided to stay in Windthrop (just east of the park). We found this to be the closest to the park for hiking without actually camping in the park.
-If you plan spending the day in the park be prepared to get there early- especially if it during June, July, August. Parking is limited everywhere and be prepared to park on the edge of the road if there are no spots.
Here is everything we did from west to east as you drive along hwy 20
Newhalem Trails
Newhalem is the entrance to the park from the west coast. The North Cascades Visitor Center is located here and it has very nice bathrooms and a water bottle filler.
Ladder Creek Falls Trail
Up the road from the visitor center is the ladder creek falls trail and the Gorge Dam Powerhouse. The trail itself is pretty easy- we did it on our way out of the park. It's 1/2 mile total round trip. I would recommend doing it either on your way in or out of the park. Apparently the falls are lit up at night but we didn't have time to stay and look at it.
Trail of the Cedars
The Trail of the cedars is located up the road from the ladder creek falls. It's also very easy trail 1/3 of a mile round trip. It is very neat and tells the history of a fire in the forest in the 1920s. This is a perfect trail for little kids and intro to hiking.
Diablo Lake Area
Diablo lake is by far the most iconic spot in the park. Who can blame it?! The Aquamarine water is so pretty!! In the summer you can see people swimming and paddle boarding in it. They also offer boat tours around the lake. It is so pretty!!
Thunder Knob Trail
Located in the diablo lake section of the park Thunder Knob is considered an "easier" hike with beautiful views of diablo lake. The trail itself is 3.6 miles round trip with a 635 feet elevation game. We saw many families with small children on the trail so it's definitely doable and there are plenty of benches along the way to rest. The views of Diablo lake at the end were spectacular!
Check out this lens flare on the picture on the left!!
View from the end of the trail!! SO pretty!!!
National Forest Area
So once you get past Diablo Lake you actually exit the park and are now in the National Forest. This is actually where some of the best hiking trails are- but don't worry it's still amazing and beautiful and you can't really tell the difference.
Heather Maple Pass Trail
This is a moderate-difficult trail that is 7.2 miles round trip with an elevation gain total of 2,000 feet. We did not do this whole trail- mostly because we had a one year old baby with us and we were trying to be realistic about how much we could do in a day. Also on the way there we accidentally lost half of our water that we brought and so we had to ration our water the entire time on the trail. This trail was absolutely breathtaking. I just kept saying "wow" the whole time. I would love to come back and do the whole thing sometime.
Washington Pass
This is a small path to a look out over the beautiful pass. It is absolutely gorgeous and worth the stop just o look out at the panoramic views.
Stehekin
Stehekin is a small village that can only be accessed by hiking, plane or boat in the National Park. I will go more in-depth about how to get there in the next blog post.
Overall
Overall we LOVED the park. I cannot wait to come back when our baby is older and he can hike the trails himself (not that I don't love carrying him :) )
I loved the "vibe" of the park. It felt like a Washington secret because it wasn't a crowded with tourists as so many other National Parks are in summer. It was still crowded but nothing compared to Mt. Rainier at the same time of year.
Other Trails that I've heard are really good and plan to at a next visit
Blue Lake Trail- This trail is 4.4 miles round trip with 1,000 ft elevation. It's on my list to do next time we visit the park- it's supposed to be beautiful
Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm- This is supposed to be the best hike in the park but damn it's challenging. It's 12 miles roundtrip with 4,000 ft elevation gain. This is a trail you prep for. I just knew it wasn't attainable for us right now. But the pictures look amazing. If you are up for a challenge- this is the trail for you.
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