Quezi

The view toward Trapper Peak at Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park. Dan Hershman photo. CC-BY.

Because North Cascades National Park is 93% wilderness area, nearly all people who visit the park proper come to hike or climb mountains. But the park is only one unit in a vast region of public lands that include some of the most delightful peaks and lakes in North America. The park is managed as part of a complex that also includes the Ross Lake National Recreation Area and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. The complex, managed the US National Park Service in turn is bordered by three national forests (which include among them five wilderness areas) and three provincial parks across the border in British Columbia. Whatever you have in mind for outdoor mountain-oriented recreation, you can certainly find it.

Although the peaks of the North Cascades are relatively low compared to what you’d find in the Rockies — mountain passes are usually under 2,000 meters high (about 6,000 feet) and there aren’t that many peaks higher than 3,000 meters high (about 9,000 feet), the abundant moisture for which western Washington state is famous means that most of the area is buried under deep snow most of the year. The complex includes more then 300 glaciers (most of them shrinking in recent years because of global warming), and some of the roads can remain closed until the middle of summer. Indeed, snow can come at any time of the year — I remember once getting snowed on during a backpacking trip over the Fourth of July.

By far the most popular hike in the park complex is that to Cascade Pass, a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) hike up to a pass that was used by Native Americans long before this area was a national park. The trail, which begins at the end of an unpaved road (the only road that enters the national park itself), provides views of glaciers, peaks, forest and meadows. There’s no camping at the park, but there are designated campsites nearby (permit required), and from the pass you can hike further and enter true mountain-climbing country.

Among the other highlights of the park region:

• From Chelan, in the southeastern part of the complex, you can ride a boat to the remote village of Stehekin.
• At Ross Lake, both motorboats and human-powered watercraft are popular, and there are plenty of boat-in campsites.
• Although it is rare to see wildlife other than birds, marmots and other small animals (including, in summer, mosquitoes), the park complex is home to wolves, black bears, grizzly bears and mountain lions.
• Downhill skiing is available at the relatively undeveloped Mount Baker Ski Area, only a few miles from the park’s boundaries, and there is plenty of nordic skiing in the region. During the winter of 1998-99, Mount Baker set the world record for snowfall, with 29 meters (95 feet).
• Seattle City Light provides extensive and popular tours, some of them including dinner, at the Diablo Lake reservoir, a hydroelectric project.
• The North Cascades Highway usually opens around the beginning of May. There are plenty of turnouts where you can stop to take pictures, and the highway provides access to many campgrounds and trails.
• Visitor centers and ranger stations provide guided walks and nature-oriented presentations during the peak summer months.

The park complex is about a three-hour drive from Seattle, Wash., or Vancouver, British Columbia. There is no public transportation to the park. There are no major population centers adjacent to the park, although small towns nearby can provide groceries, gasoline, dining and limited accommodations. A 70-mile stretch of the North Cascades Highway, from Marblemount to Mazama, has no gasoline or other services.

There is no entry fee for the park complex, although a permit must be purchased to park at certain trailheads.