| North Cascades National Park | |
Things to Do:
The North Cascades National Park Complex offers opportunities for a variety of activities depending on your personal interests. The park includes some of America's most beautiful mountain scenery, including high jagged peaks, ridges, slopes, numerous cascading waterfalls, and more than 300 glaciers, more than any other national park in the contiguous United States.
To make the most of your visit, stop at the North Cascades Headquarters in Sedro-Woolley, or at the North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem, the Golden West Visitor Center in the Stehekin Valley, or at a national park or forest information ranger station located throughout the area. Rangers are available to help you with trail information, backcountry permits, and general information about the area.
Scheduled Programs
National Park Service
rangers offer scheduled talks and guided walks primarily during the
summer months. These include evening daily programs at Colonial Creek Campground
and Saturdays at Newhalem Creek Campground (both along the North Cascades
Highway) and daily at the Purple Point Information Center at Stehekin. Hozomeen,
at the north end of Ross Lake, includes weekend evening programs, daytime guided
walks and children's programs. Short talks are offered daily at Stehekin Landing
and at the North Cascades Visitor Center. Program topics and schedules vary from
week to week. Other organizations, such as the North
Cascades Institute also offer programs in cooperation with the National Park
Service.
Hiking
There are 386
miles of maintained trails and more than 200 designated backcountry
campsites. Lower elevation trails are usually accessible from early April through
mid-October. Higher elevation trails (which is most of the North Cascades
backcountry), however, do not open until mid-July and remain accessible through
late September. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail crosses Highway 20 at
Rainy Pass (just outside the park) at an elevation of 4,860 feet.
Wildlife
Viewing
North Cascades encompasses five life zones, from rich lowland valleys through
dense forests to the tops of glacier-covered peaks, then back down to the arid
eastern slopes. This diversity of environments allows a corresponding variety of
plant and animal species. Within the three park complex more than 1,500 species
of plants have been identified, along with hundreds of birds, reptiles and
amphibians.
Climbing
Mountain climbing in the park is extremely challenging and requires experience,
safe equipment, local information on weather and climbing conditions,
and good technical skills. All overnight climbing trips require that you get a free backcountry
use permit. The Marblemount Ranger Station is the backcountry and
climbing information station for the Skagit District. The Golden West Visitor
Center provides backcountry and climbing information for the Stehekin
District. A wilderness trip planner
is available online from the National Park Service.
Auto Touring
Ross Lake National Recreation Area divides the two units of North Cascades National Park and serves as the corridor for the popular North Cascades Highway, which bisects the park. This scenic route across the Cascade Mountains affords travelers many recreational opportunities, including self-guiding trails, exhibits, and information and camping facilities. The highway is closed by snow for part of the year, generally from mid-November to April.
Boating
Two graded-cement boat ramps at Hozomeen (Ross Lake) are normally usable
from mid-June through September. Canoes, kayaks and small craft can be launched
at Colonial Creek Campground and boated five miles to the end of Diablo Lake.
Boats and gear must be portaged around Ross Dam over a mile long gravel road
with 600 foot elevation gain. Numerous
boat landing sites exist on Lake Chelan, including the Stehekin Landing. Small
boats can be rented at Ross Lake Resort and at North Cascades Stehekin Lodge.
Other Activities
Within the 117,000 acres of the Ross Lake National Recreation Area are three
large Seattle City Light power projects. Seattle City Light sponsors regularly
scheduled tours of its Diablo Lake and Ross Dam hydro facilities. The reservoirs
provide spectacular water gateways to remote parts of the three National Park
Service areas. Diablo Lake is 910 acres and Gorge Lake 210 acres. Ross Lake, 24
miles long and two miles wide at its greatest width, covers 12,000 acres.
