•north cascades national park•

the greatest sights you need to see in north cascades

06•19•2022

Located in northern Washington less than three hours from Seattle, North Cascades National Park is sometimes referred to as the “American Alps”. The park offers awe-inspiring scenery including jagged mountain peaks, alpine lakes, abundant rivers and waterfalls, and more than 300 glaciers. This post will tell you what you need to know in order to visit this beautiful park including when to visit, where to stay, and the best things to do in North Cascades National Park.

•the national park areas•

North Cascades National Park is considered one of the least-visited National Parks in the United States with less than 18,000 visitors in 2021. However, that is because most people who visit the park are actually visiting National Recreation Areas that are adjacent to the actual National Park land! The North Cascades National Park complex is actually made up of a north unit, south unit, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (NRA). Highway 20 runs through the complex, but actually goes through Ross Lake NRA and never touches the North Cascades National Park north or south units. This National Park Service map will give you a good idea of the different units, main stops not to miss along Highway 20, and the surrounding areas. And there is no national park entry fee for North Cascades!

North Cascades is also accessible via Stehekin, in the Lake Chelan NRA, which can be reached by boat, hiking, or plane. See our separate post about Stehekin, as this post mostly covers the North Cascades Scenic Highway area.

•getting to north cascades•

Diablo Lake

Roadside Waterfall

North Cascades National Park is located in northwestern Washington, close to the Canadian border. Dubbed the North Cascades Scenic Highway, Highway 20 follows the Skagit River and bisects the park. It stretches from I-5 in Burlington on the west side of the park though Winthrop and Twisp and beyond on the east side of the park. This scenic mountain drive takes you from the lush green lowland Puget Sound area, up through the jagged peaks of the Cascade Mountains, and over into the dry, almost desert-like Methow Valley and the small gateway towns located there.

Road conditions for Highway 20 can be found on the WSDOT website. There is a seasonal winter closure of this single road that goes through the park, which you’ll find more info on below. Please note that there are NO services within the park. It’s important to ensure that you have a full tank of gas, some snacks and water, and any other essentials before leaving the gateway towns and entering the park. Cell phone service is also limited within the park.

If you are coming from the Seattle area, count on at least a 2-hour drive to reach the west entrance of the park without traffic. I will say that the drive to reach the park can feel long – you can see the mountain peaks towering in front of you, but it can start to feel like it takes a while to actually get to them. It’s worth the drive but prepare yourself!

Washington Pass

Roadside Waterfall with Snow

•things to do in north cascades•

Besides just driving the North Cascades Highway and gawking at the scenery, there are some must-see stops along the drive, plus some great outdoor activities including hiking.

Diablo Lake, Gorge Lake, and Ross Lake – These three lakes are emerald-colored glacier-fed lakes located on the west side of the park. If you’ve seen pictures of the park, chances are you’ve seen pictures of Diablo Lake on a sunny day when its green color looks almost surreal. This National Park Service page explains this phenomenon for those who are curious. The Lakes are best viewed when the sun is shining bright, accentuating their beautiful turquoise color that you have seen in pictures!

Diablo Lake – This is one of the most popular spots in the park. You can stop and enjoy a scenic overlook that is easily accessible, located right off a large parking lot with restrooms and picnic tables. You will have beautiful views of the lake, Diablo Dam, and the surrounding mountains. The North Cascades Institute also offers boat tours of the lake, although we haven’t done the tour.
Gorge Creek Falls and Gorge Lake Overlook – This stop allows you to enjoy views of a large waterfall, Gorge Creek Falls, and Gorge Lake. The falls are on the north side of the highway, and the gorge runs under the road to the lake that is on the south side, with parking on either side of the gorge. There is a short loop trail that leaves from the main lot (which does have restrooms) and allows views of the lake.
Ross Lake – This is a much smaller pullout, and the experience will likely seem less impressive than Diablo Lake, but it does afford views of the third emerald colored lake, Ross Lake. You could also try the Ross Dam Trail down to the dam itself, if you are looking for a short hike at only <2 miles and 500 feet of elevation gain.

Washington Pass Overlook – This is a can’t miss photo opportunity with a beautiful view of the mountain pass, jagged surrounding mountain peaks including Liberty Bell Mountain, and Highway 20 as it leads off into the distance. It’s also your best chance of seeing snow along the roadway, as Washington Pass is the highest point along the North Cascades highway at an elevation of 5,477 feet. Although this stop is technically just outside the National Park Complex, there is an overlook that is a very short walk from the parking lot that offers stunning views!

Hiking – The park offers hundreds of miles of hiking trails for all activity levels. If you want to say that you actually stepped foot in North Cascades National Park, rather than the surrounding NRA’s, hiking is your best way to do that! It’s important to keep in mind that higher elevation trails will remain covered in snow until well into July or sometimes even August. Be sure to research hikes, check trail conditions, find out what hiking passes you may need, and read our hiking 101 tips before you set out. Here are some well-known area hike suggestions to get you started:

Thunder Knob Trail – 3.6 miles, 425 feet of elevation gain, views of Diablo Lake
Ross Dam Trail – 1.5 miles, 500 feet of elevation gain, walk across the Ross Lake Dam
Easy Pass Trail – 7.4 miles, 3000 feet elevation gain, mountain pass views
Rainy Lake – 2.0 miles, 70 feet elevation gain, mountain and lake views
Lake Ann – 3.4 miles, 700 feet elevation gain, mountain and lake views
Sourdough Mountain – 10.4 miles, 4870 feet elevation gain, mountain and lake views
Cascade Pass Trail – 7.4 miles, 1700 feet elevation gain, mountain and glacier views
Maple Pass – 7.2 miles, 2000 feet elevation gain, mountain and lake views, larches in the fall
Hidden Lake – 9 miles, 2900 feet elevation gain, mountain and lake views with a fire lookout

Fish and Boating – Fishing and water activities are popular activities in the park, including kayaking, canoeing, and boating on the three lakes mentioned above. Ross Lake Resort even offers boat, kayak, and canoe rentals.

Wildlife Viewing – North Cascades is home to some very exciting wildlife, if you are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the animals. The park is home to black bears, mountain goats, bobcats, bald eagles, and some lesser seen animals such as moose and grizzly bears.

Diablo Lake

Diablo Lake Sign

Washington Pass

•where to stay in north cascades•

View of the Cascades from Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop

Unless you are camping, you will most likely be staying in a gateway town on either side of the park. The single resort located within the park is Ross Lake, and it is extremely difficult to get reservations there. However, there are great options outside the park if you are willing to drive from them to get into the park. Personally, I would recommend staying in Winthrop based on drive time to the park, and on the fact that Winthrop is a pretty cool little Western themed town with lots of fun things to see and do.

Ross Lake Resort – Aptly named for its location on Ross Lake, this resort offers floating cabins connected by a boardwalk along the lake. Reservations are extremely difficult to come by and many people join the waitlist year after year without obtaining a reservation. The resort is only accessible by hiking or by boat, but it seems like it would be a super cool place to visit and unplug if you get the chance!
East side of the park – On the east side of the park, you will find the small gateway towns of Mazama, Winthrop, and Twisp. For perspective, they are located about 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes, respectively, from Washington Pass, on the east side of the park complex.
West side of the park – On the west side of the park, options for lodging include towns such as Anacortes, Mount Vernon, and Burlington. These towns are about 60-90 minutes from the west entrance to the park.
Camping – There are multiple campgrounds along Highway 20. Reservations are required, generally May-September, and are on a first-come-first-served basis. They can be made through recreation.gov.

Unless you are camping and/or backpacking, 1-2 days will probably suffice for a visit to North Cascades. However, you may want to explore some of the surrounding towns too and see below about making this part of an extended road trip around the Cascade Loop!

•When to visit north cascades•

North Cascades is most popular for visitors between July and September when the weather is warmer and often sunny. North Cascades is definitely the least-visited of the three National Parks in Washington. However, the singular road does get crowded during the busy season in the summer, so go early if you want to avoid crowds! And unfortunately, summer can also mean wildfires in the park and the dry areas to the east. This can mean that there might be smoke and potential road closures to deal with at times, so be sure to check conditions before you go in the dry season.

Much of the park is inaccessible in the winter. Highway 20 closes in the winter between the Ross Dam Trailhead and the Lone Fir Campground. The area receives a very large amount of snowfall that creates significant avalanche risk, and the road is not plowed until spring. Each year, the Washington State Department of Transportation announces an opening date based on when they are able to plow the road. This is generally in mid-May but could be earlier or later depending on conditions. Past opening and closing dates can be found here under “North Cascades SR 20”. Road conditions for Highway 20 can be found on the WSDOT website.

Visitors can also enjoy the park in the shoulder seasons when waterfalls are abundant in the spring and fall colors and larches are stunning in the fall. However, I have often seen it referred to as “larch madness” because so many people flock to the area to see these bright yellow trees in the fall, so plan to arrive extremely early if you are looking for parking at popular trailheads during this time. I actually normally visit in mid to late May, right after the highway opens for the season. Rainfall is less predictable than in the summer, but the highway is less crowded, there are no wildfire impacts to worry about, and the waterfalls are raging in the spring.

Waterfall in North Cascades

•national park visitor centers•

North Cascades National Park Entrance Sign

If you are a National Park Passport stamp collector like me, you won’t want to miss the visitor centers! Visitor centers for North Cascades are located in Newhalem and Marblemount and are open daily. The main North Cascades Visitor Center is located in Newhalem and has exhibits, a theater, and a small store. The Wilderness Information Center is located in Marblemount and has a small store. This is the main location for backcountry permits for the park. There is also a Park and Forest Information Center in Sedro-Woolley and Methow Valley Ranger Station in Winthrop, which are open less frequently. Check the NPS website for up-to-date hours. And if you also like to take pictures at the National Park entrance signs like we do, it’s located on the south side of the road between Marblemount and Diablo Lake. The sign even has fake snow on top, which is a unique and fun touch for this park that spends so much time covered in snow!

•the cascade loop•

If you drive through the park, you may just turn back around and retrace your steps and do it all in reverse again to get back. Or, in order to extend the fun and see even more sights, you could make this trip part of a longer road trip around the entire Cascade Loop! This is a 440+ mile loop that not only takes you through the North Cascades and its surrounding gateway towns, but also down through Chelan (where you could take a trip to the southern end of North Cascades National Park from Stehekin) and through the well-known Bavarian town of Leavenworth. To allow yourself to enjoy the sights along the way, you would want to spend several nights along the way!

If you prefer to take the road less traveled (at least compared to Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks), check out North Cascades! The mountains, lakes, and incredible hiking opportunities will not disappoint!

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