GUIDE: North Cascades National Park
What you’ll find in this post:
Information about the North Cascades National Park
Home to over 300 glaciers, stunning peaks, and a turquoise lake.
Mini Guide:
Drive time from Seattle: 2.5 hours to entrance of park
Best time to go: Late summer to early fall (Highway 20 closes in winter)
Cost: No fee for this National Park
Must See Locations: Diablo Lake, Mount Washington, Observation Overlook, & Winthrop
Kid-Friendly Hikes: Trail of the Cedars, Gorge Creek Falls Trail, Sterling Munro Boardwalk
Learning Opportunities: Glaciers, rivers, rocks, hydroelectric power.
Stay: In Winthrop.
Pro Tips:
Look into the The National Parks and Federal Recreational Land Annual Pass if you are going to other National Park or federal recreational areas. $80/year this also allows you to skip the line at some popular National Parks.
In winter, watch for snow & avalanche warnings. In summer, watch for fire & air quality conditions.
Check WSDOT for local road conditions. In winter SR 20 closes due to snow and in summer it closes at times for construction or fires.
Carry chains in October - May, even if SR 20 is open.
The North Cascades National Park is set in the north west portion of Washington state and is one of the least visited National Park in the continental U.S., yet it has some of the largest areas of designated wilderness. The park is spilt into four sections: the North Unit, South Unit, Ross Lake National Recreational Area, and the Chelan National Recreational Area. The North Cascades Scenic Highway (SR 20) is the main artery of the North Unit and Ross Lake National Recreation Area of the North Cascades National Park.
State Route 20 closes in the late fall and typically opens in late spring, check the road status before heading out. The best times to visit this park are early fall, late spring, and summer as the snowy weather in the winter shuts down most of the roads.
Unlike many other National Parks, there is no fee to enter the park.
To get to the scenic highway, drive about 2 hours from the Seattle area to the entrance of the North Cascades National Park. This is the route we take HERE.
NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK
The entrance of the North Cascades National Park is where the journey of this post begins and will continue west to east. I’ll show you the must see places you have to stop along this scenic highway.
SMALL TOWN OF NEWHALEM
The town of Newhalem is a great place to stop off and use the restroom, play at the park, explore the old train, grab supplies at the small country store (closed due to COVID right now), or visit the Skagit Visitor Center (open seasonally).
The Trail of Cedars trailhead can be found a block down the road from the country store, starting at the suspension bridge, which is where the main photo of this post was taken. This trail is awesome for kids, take the short 1.0 mile loop hike. Half way you’ll discover a powerhouse and on the way back the trail follows the river.
There are so many cute little places to discover around town.
Gorge Powerhouse and Japanese Garden
Just as you are on your way out of the small town of Newhalem you’ll see the Gorge Powerhouse. The Japanese Garden is just behind it.
GORGE CREEK FALLS
Just under 3 miles from Newhalem you’ll see a parking lot on the right side of the road. Park there and explore the Gorge Creek Falls and get views of the Gorge Dam.
ROSS LAKE RESORT TRAIL
After you cross the dam and drive a little ways down the road, you’ll see signs for the trailhead, follow them to the parking lot on the right side of the road.
To get to the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center you have to drive over the dam. The center is set on the shores of Diablo Lake It’s a school, a basecamp, and activity center. Closed on the weekends, this is a cool place to check out during weekdays.
DIABLO LAKE VISTA VIEWPOINT
About another 4.5 miles down the road, you’ll see a parking lot on the left, which is where you’ll encounter probably the most famous phyiscal feature of this National Park, Diablo Lake. It gets its color from “glacial flour” sediment. Note on sunny days it’s hard to capture the true hue of the lake, but overcast days really allow the turquoise like color stand out.
CHECK OUT GLACIERS
The North Cascades National Park has more glaciers than Glacier National Park. Diabolo Lake overlook is a great place to view some of the 300 glaciers found in the park.
ROSS LAKE OVERLOOK
Five minutes down from Diablo Lake Vista, you’ll find Ross Lake Overlook. The famous Ross Lake Resort can be found floating somewhere on the lake. Reservations are almost impossible to get and the resort books out a year in advance.
In order to get to the resort, you must take a passenger ferry from one of the two ferry terminals. The easiest way is to park your car at the Diablo Ferry Terminal and take a short walk to the dock. The other way is to park along State Route 20 and walk about 3/4 mile to a dock, where you’ll find a phone to call the resort to request a pick up.
26 miles down the State Route 20 from the Diablo Lake Overlook, you come to Rainy Pass, just off mile post 158. This pass sits at 4855 feet, where both Rainy Lake and Maple Loop Pass trailheads can be found.
Rainy lake trail is a great hike for kids. Wheelchair accessible, this 2 mile in and out hike to a lake surrounded by mountains is a great place to adventure.
Starting at the same trailhead as the Rainy Lake trail, just over 7 mile hike with about a 2000 foot elevation gain is a must do in the summer and early fall. Unfortunately there was already quite a bit of snow when we visited and we didn’t have the proper gear. Everyone says this is the best place to see the fall foliage of the National Park.
WASHINGTON PASS OBSERVATION SITE
This is probably THE coolest stop in the park. In late fall and early spring there is typically snow here, so summer is the best time to explore.
WINTHROP
A total of just over 4 hours from Seattle, and 30 minutes from Washington Pass Observation Site in Eastern Washington, you’ll find the adorable American Old West themed town of Winthrop. Head here after a day of exploring to spend the afternoon walking around the town. The Rocking Horse Bakery is a must.
On the way out of town, check out the Lost River Winery and enjoy a bottle of wine. Kid-friendly! I brought a stack of books to play with while we enjoyed our wine.
Older Kid Activities:
The Barnyard Cinema runs children shows and documentaries. Worth checking out if you are in town. And you can grab pizza at East 20 Pizza before heading over for your film.
The Shafer Historical Museum is pretty cool, but I wouldn’t recommend it with a smaller kid. Currently you can sign up for tours on Saturday mornings, but the outside area is open even when tours aren’t running.
From Seattle to Winthrop is about 190 miles, just over 4 hours. You don’t have to go all the way to Winthrop, but rather can cut the trip short and just explore the National Park.
