Planning a trip to North Cascades National Park
Information
Contact North Cascades National Park Service Complex, 810 Wash. State Rte. 20, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 (tel. 360/854-7200; www.nps.gov/noca). The park publishes an annual newspaper, the North Cascades and Mt. Baker Visitor Information Guide, in conjunction with the Forest Service full of useful information. For current information, such as road closures, call or check the park's website.
Visitor Centers
The North Cascades Visitor Center, mile marker 120, Wash. State Rte. 20, Newhalem (tel. 206/386-4495), open daily in the summer, offers exhibits, audiovisual programs, a bookstore, and assistance from rangers. A wheelchair-accessible trail (Sterling Munro Viewpoint) leads from the back of the building and affords excellent views of the surrounding mountains. Several other universally accessible trails, including the Rock Shelter Trail, are nearby.
The Golden West Visitor Center, P.O. Box 7, Stehekin, WA 98852 (tel. 360/854-7365, ext. 14), is on the banks of the northern tip of Lake Chelan. It provides information on camping, hiking, backcountry permits, and the local environs, and has interpretive exhibits and a bookstore. It's open daily in the summer and keeps shorter hours in winter. You can also rent bicycles from a concessionaire.
Fees & Permits
There are currently no entrance fees for the park complex, though there are fees for camping. The Northwest Forest Pass ($5 per day, $30 per year) is required for Forest Service trail heads. A dock fee pass ($5 per day, $40 per year) is required on Lake Chelan from May 1 until October 31. Backcountry permits are required but free.
Special Regulations & Warnings
Wash. State Rte. 20 is usually closed from mid-November through mid-April. Call the park complex headquarters in Sedro-Woolley (tel. 360/854-7200), or check the park's website, www.nps.gov/noca, for current information.
Check in at a visitor center for full details on trails before you head into the backcountry. This is bear and mountain lion (cougar) country; pick up the free handout on hiking and camping safety.
Other than the general precautions that anyone would take when camping in a wilderness area, keep in mind that the North Cascades National Park Service Complex can be extremely remote for both the backcountry hiker and the park driver. Even when day hiking, remember to carry enough water (and all of the 10 essential items). Don't forget bug spray -- the area has a lot of water (not necessarily to drink) and, consequently, lots of insects during some seasons at some locations.
When to Go
As can usually be expected in the Northwest, rains arrive westerly from the Pacific in the spring and fall, with summer being the most pleasant all around. At any time, though, expect rain and bring rain gear. The eastern side of the mountains is less wet than the western. Few visit the North Cascades area in the winter, which begins creeping up in October in the upper elevations and mid-November in the lower elevations. It lasts until mid- to late April and necessitates the regular closure of Wash. State Rte. 20. Closure depends on snow and avalanche conditions.
From April to September, daytime temperatures range from 50° to 80°F (10°-27°C), depending on the elevation. However, this is a land of extremes: Trails at higher elevations are usually snow-covered into early July (though this varies considerably from year to year), and summer temperatures of 100°F (38°C) are not unusual at Ross Lake and Lake Chelan. With the extremes in altitude here, it's always good to bring some warm clothing, even in the summer months.
Seasonal Events
The Golden West Visitor Center mounts several art exhibits in the summer. Contact the park for dates.
North Cascades is also one of the national parks that offers an artist-in-residence program, which gives artists a chance to "discover and interpret this landscape through their own projects." The residencies are for 4 to 6 weeks and take place in the spring and fall. For information and an application, visit www.nps.gov/noca/supportyourpark/artist-in-residence.htm.
Avoiding the Crowds
It's not hard to avoid the crowds in the North Cascades. The lack of roads, the weather, and the ruggedness of the terrain all work in concert to keep this one of the best-kept secrets in the national park system.
If it's true isolation you seek, hike in the northern unit of the national park. Nonetheless, Stehekin (the developed unit of the southern park section) also offers plenty of solitude, especially in the fall and winter. Lake Chelan, Ross Lake, and Diablo Lake are relatively tourist-heavy spots.
In high season, this park can be like many others. You're more likely to run into folks on the Big Beaver Trail or on your way to Hozomeen in the summer than in the fall, which is about the last part of the year during which you can easily get anywhere in the park. Ross Lake is thicker with boaters on summer holiday weekends, and the heaviest load of visitors all year is in Stehekin and the Cascade Pass area during July and August. The deeper into the backcountry you go, the fewer people you are likely to encounter. Winter is not to be underestimated in this park, and Wash. State Rte. 20 will almost certainly be closed.
Getting Around
By Air
If you want to get to Stehekin in a hurry, you can make the trip by floatplane on Chelan Seaplanes (tel. 509/682-5555; www.chelanseaplanes.com), which leaves from the dock next to the ferries at Chelan. The fare is $158 round-trip adults, $98 for kids under 12 (plus fuel surcharge).
By Boat
On Lake Chelan in the spring and summer, the Lady Express and the Lady of the Lake II run between the Lake Chelan boat landing and Stehekin, at the north end of the lake. In the fall and winter, only the Lady Express operates. Rides cost $39 to $59 round-trip, depending on the boat. Contact Lady of the Lake (tel. 509/682-4584; www.ladyofthelake.com). The Ross Lake Resort (tel. 206/386-4437) operates water taxis to trail heads and campgrounds on Ross Lake and offers portage service.
By Shuttle Bus
A shuttle bus provides transportation up the Stehekin Valley Road.
No reservations are required, and the cost is $5 one-way. If you want to ride as far as the Stehekin Pastry Company, the fare is only $2 each way.
Taxi service is also available from the North Cascades Stehekin Lodge at the boat landing.
Getting There
Only one paved road, Wash. State Rte. 20, goes through the park complex. There are a few unpaved side trips, though. The Cascade River Road, which leaves Wash. 20 at Marblemount, enters the national park proper as an unpaved road. The gravel Stehekin Valley Road above High Bridge also enters the national park. This road does not connect with the outside world, however; rather, the park concessionaire provides a shuttle service along this road from mid-May to mid-October.
From Seattle on the west side, take the Wash. State Rte. 20 exit 230 off I-5 and head east, toward Rockport and Marblemount, into the park. From Spokane, the major metropolitan area on the east side, it's U.S. 2 West, linking up with U.S. 97 North, to Wash. State Rte. 153 and, finally, Wash. State Rte. 20. And remember, in the winter, these roads may close at any time from late October to early May. Be sure to call ahead.
The Nearest Airport -- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (tel. 206/787-5388; www.portseattle.org/seatac) is 15 miles south of Seattle on I-5. The airport is served by practically all major airlines and car-rental companies.
