North Cascades
Jagged, glacier-covered peaks, turquoise lakes and deep forest a few hours from Seattle
- Hours
- Open 24 hours; SR 20 closes in winter
- Entry
- Free entry
- Reservations
- Not required
- Size
- 504,781 acres (about 684,000 acres with Ross Lake and Lake Chelan NRAs)
North Cascades Weather Now
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North Cascades is one of the most rugged and least visited parks in the lower 48, with more than 300 glaciers, more than any other US park outside Alaska. The national park is managed together with Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas as the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Its steep, sharp peaks were carved by ice from old ocean crust and volcanic rock that was pushed together and lifted up. Almost all of the complex is designated wilderness.
Most visitors see it from the North Cascades Highway, which runs through the Ross Lake corridor past Seattle City Light's three dams on the Skagit River. The bright green lakes behind those dams get their color from finely ground rock washed down from glaciers. On the south end, Stehekin sits at the head of Lake Chelan, one of the deepest lakes in the country, and can only be reached by boat, plane or on foot. The park sees far fewer visitors in a year than Mount Rainier gets in a busy month.
The park and surrounding area
- Park boundary
- Other parks
- Major highway
- Road
- Rivers and lakes
- Town
Plan your trip
- Best time to go
- July through September, when SR 20 is open, high trails like Cascade Pass are mostly free of snow and Stehekin services run.
- How long to stay
- One day covers the highway drive and short hikes; plan two or three days to add Cascade Pass or a trip to Stehekin.
- Getting there
- Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) is about 2.5 hours from Newhalem and Bellingham (BLI) about 1.5 hours; for Stehekin, drive to Chelan, about 3 hours from Seattle, and take the ferry.
- Wildlife
- Look for black bears, mountain goats, hoary marmots, pikas, deer, bald eagles in winter along the Skagit, and salmon spawning in the fall.
Plan and book
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Where to stay
- Hotels in Marblemount (opens in a new tab)Washington
- Hotels in Winthrop (opens in a new tab)Washington
- Hotels in Concrete (opens in a new tab)Washington
- Lodges inside the park (opens in a new tab)Official NPS list
Tours and activities
- Guided tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)Day trips, wildlife, photography
- Tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)Compare options and reviews
- Campsites on Recreation.gov (opens in a new tab)Official federal booking site
What to pack for North Cascades
- Waterproof hiking bootsTrails like Cascade Pass can hold snow and mud well into July.
- Rain jacketThe west side of the range is one of the wettest places in the state.
- Bear canisterMany backcountry camps require hard-sided food storage.
- Offline map or trail guideThere is almost no cell service along SR 20 or in Stehekin.
- Warm insulated layerMountain passes are much colder than the valleys, even in summer.
A first day, start to finish
- Trail of the Cedars in Newhalem
- Diablo Lake Overlook
- Ross Lake Overlook or Ross Dam Trail
- Washington Pass Overlook
- Dinner in Winthrop or back in Marblemount
Don't miss
- Diablo Lake OverlookA pullout on SR 20 near milepost 132 above Diablo Lake, whose glacial flour turns the water a bright turquoise green.
- Cascade PassA 7.4-mile round trip with about 1,800 feet of climbing from the end of Cascade River Road to a meadow pass ringed by glaciers, with Sahale Arm beyond for strong hikers.
- Washington Pass OverlookJust outside the park on Forest Service land at about 5,477 feet, a short paved path looks up at Liberty Bell Mountain and down on the highway's hairpin turn.
- Stehekin and Lake ChelanA remote village with no road access, reached by the Lady of the Lake ferry from Chelan or by floatplane, with valley shuttles to Rainbow Falls.
- Ross LakeA 23-mile reservoir reached from SR 20 by the Ross Dam Trail, with boat-in camps, kayaking and floating cabins at Ross Lake Resort.
Know before you go
Do
- Check the WSDOT pass report and the park's fire closures page before you go.
- Fill up on gas in Marblemount or Winthrop, since there is no fuel along the 75 miles of SR 20 between them.
- Get your wilderness permit before any overnight trip, including boat-in camps on Ross Lake.
Don't
- Count on cell service; there is almost none between Marblemount and Mazama.
- Take an RV or low-clearance car up the gravel part of Cascade River Road; vehicles over 22 feet are not allowed.
- Plan on meals or rooms at the North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin in 2026; it is closed after last winter's floods.
The park complex is open 24 hours a day, year-round, but the North Cascades Highway (SR 20) usually closes between the Ross Dam area and Lone Fire Creek from late November or early December until April or May. In 2026 the highway was closed by winter washouts and a March rockslide near Diablo Lake and fully reopened on June 14; it is open as of early October 2026. The North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem was open daily May 18 to September 27, 2026 and is now closed for the season, while the Skagit Information Center in Newhalem is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 1 and the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is open through October 10.
Stop at the Diablo Lake Overlook in the afternoon, when the sun lights up the water's turquoise color best.Trekker's tip