Suggested Itineraries

If You Have Only 1 Day--Considering that this is one of the most rugged wilderness areas in the United States, any attempt to see the park in a day must be made with the understanding that you're not going to see it all. For most folks with limited time, the choice is a summer drive across the park via Wash. 20 (described in the next section).

If You Have More Time--The road into the park is a beautiful drive along the banks of the Skagit River, past the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Your last real connection with civilization, and the last chance to stock up on groceries, is Marblemount, the oldest town in the region. From here, you can head south or east. South is the Cascade River Road, and east is Wash. 20.

The Cascade River Road is a 23-mile stretch of unpaved road that leads to the Cascade Pass Trailhead, at the southern end of North Cascades National Park. The road passes near a fish hatchery and crosses the Skagit River before terminating at the Cascade Pass Trailhead (Northwest Forest Pass required for parking). Many folks take the 3.7-mile trip to the top of the pass, which leads the hiker up a relatively modest set of switchbacks to beautiful views of glaciers and subalpine meadows.

If you're not up to the unpaved twisting of the Cascade River Road, continue on Wash. 20 to Newhalem, where the North Cascades Visitor Center has good exhibits and regularly scheduled ranger-led walks and talks. This is a good place to get information about the many short walks and hikes that are in the immediate vicinity. You'll find a short, boardwalk trail beginning behind the visitor center that affords beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. In addition, if you're there late enough in the day, check out the trail to Ladder Creek Falls (which is not on National Park Service property but rather owned by Seattle City Light), which is fun in a most decidedly touristy manner. There's a hydroelectric dam at the end of the trail that creates a miniature light show on the falls at night, created by James Ross, the master dam builder of the area. It's worth the hike.

The National Park Service recommends the short, accessible, Newhalem Rockshelter Trail to an archaeological site near the visitor center, as well as the River Loop Trail from the visitor center.

Next up on the route is the little town of Diablo, located at the foot of 389-foot-high Diablo Dam, which holds in the blue-green waters of Diablo Lake. There's a boat landing here, and several tours operated by Skagit Tours (tel. 206/684-3030) that take you around Diablo Lake. One particularly cheap ride takes you up the Incline Railway, a steep, elevator-like trip up the hillside. There you can take walks across the top of Diablo Dam and the surrounding area. As the road loops south from Diablo, look for fantastic views of Neve Glacier. In fact, there are beautiful views to be had from a plethora of turnouts along the road. Between Newhalem and Diablo there is the new, and universally accessible, Gorge Overlook Trail, with great views and interpretive signs.

At the Ross Lake Dam, the lake begins its 24-mile dogleg up the eastern side of the park complex to the Canadian border. For views of the lake from the dam, stop the car and take the steep, 1-mile walk down the Ross Dam Trail (Northwest Forest Trail pass required for parking). This trail leads over the top of the dam, eventually winding its way to the Ross Lake Resort and the North Cascades backcountry. Another good choice is the accessible Happy Creek Forest Walk, a quarter mile past the Ross Dam Trailhead, a one-third-mile boardwalk stroll through old-growth forest, with interpretive signs. Further along Wash. 20, take the turnout at the Ross Lake Overlook, where you can see the Ruby Arm (leading to Ruby Creek) as well as Ross Lake proper, heading north toward Canada.

The Stehekin Area, at the head of Lake Chelan, is not accessible by car. To get there, you have to either hike in, take a passenger ferry or floatplane up from the southern resort town of Chelan, or take the Cascade River Road from Marblemount to its southern terminus at the Cascade Pass Trailhead. From there, you can hike 12 miles over Cascade Pass to Glory Mountain, along the Stehekin Valley Road, where you may be able to catch a shuttle bus to the Stehekin area, if the road is open (usually from early July to mid-Oct). Flood damage has closed the road from Glory Mountain to its terminus 2.7 miles further at Cottonwood Camp. Be sure to call ahead for up-to-date information and to reserve a seat on the shuttle bus (tel. 360/856-5700, ext. 340, then ext. 14). A ferry ride up the lake from Chelan is the only quick way to the Stehekin Area. (A floatplane is actually the quickest, though most expensive, option.)

Once you make it to Stehekin, you can rent a bike to ride the roads in the area, but bikes are not permitted on trails. Give yourself enough time and strength for the hike out, though.

If you wish to visit the northern sections of the park, there are a couple of options. From the Ross Dam area, park the car and hike the trail in to the Ross Lake Resort. You can hike around the general area, or, better yet, catch a water taxi up the shores of the lake (arrange this at the resort). The taxis will drop you off at any of the trailheads that intersect both sides of the shores of this lake all the way to Hozomeen, the northernmost part of the lake in U.S. territory. Ross Lake Resort also offers boat rentals (small outboards, canoes, and kayaks) for those who want to fish or explore the lake on their own.

The only practical way to get near the northwest section of the park by vehicle is to head east from the Mount Baker Wilderness Area, which is popular and easily accessible because of the Mount Baker Ski Area. Beyond the Mount Baker area, take the Hannegan Road, which is accessible by four-wheel-drive regularly, and other vehicles semiregularly. As usual, it's a good idea to call ahead for road conditions. Beyond the end of the road lie the popular Hannegan Pass, Copper Ridge, and Chilliwack trails. These are popular trails in the summer season, but they are multiday hikes and require a permit for camping overnight. The trails offer beautiful views of glaciers spreading southward through the park, especially the Nooksack Glacier along the ridges overhanging the Nooksack River. The Northwest Forest Pass is required for all trailhead parking on U.S. Forest Service Lands in Washington and Oregon.