Park Hub°
Passport
A Park Hub Field Guide
Lat 48.6663° N
Long 121.2667° W
Elevation500 – 9,220 ft

Washington · Stamp 45 / 63

North Cascades

National Park · Established 1968

The American Alps, home to more glaciers than any other park in the contiguous United States, connected by one seasonal highway.

Area504,781 acres
TrailheadNewhalem, Washington
Visitors30k / yr
Scroll to begin the ascent
Live · State Route 20 fully open after 2026 emergency repairs The only road through the park closes completely every winter 1 active alert 62°F · alpine weather changes fast Live layer, from the National Park Service
Best windowLate Jun–Sep · Highway 20 typically closed Nov–Apr, sometimes later Getting there2 hr from Seattle · 1.5 hr from Bellingham FeeFree · no entrance fee
★★★★★ 4.9 from 1 travelers 1 visitor stories 30k annual visitors Grounded in live NPS data
North Cascades · Mile 01 · The Story

The American Alps,
reachable by one road.

North Cascades holds more glaciers than any other national park in the contiguous United States, over 300 of them, scattered across jagged peaks so rugged that no road crosses the park's interior. State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, skirts the park's southern edge and closes completely every winter due to heavy snow and avalanche risk, typically reopening sometime between mid-April and early May.

In 2026, winter storm damage and a spring rockslide pushed that reopening later than usual, closing the road well past its typical spring return before repairs finished in June, a reminder that even the highway's seasonal schedule isn't fully predictable. Diablo Lake, with water colored a striking turquoise by glacial silt, sits directly along the highway and remains the park's single most photographed spot, no hiking required.

Come for the glaciers. Stay for how little of this park most visitors ever actually see, since the vast majority of it has no road at all. Read the story, check current highway conditions before you go, and when you leave, collect the stamp.

Product photo coming soon
From $11.98
Premium matte paper, museum-quality print. Ships in a protective tube. Price varies by size, chosen at checkout.
Get Your North Cascades Poster →
“
Jagged peaks, waterfalls, and over 300 glaciers adorn the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.
Adapted from North Cascades National Park's own description of the park
Diablo Lake
"The mountains are calling and I must go."
John Muir
North Cascades · Mile 02 · The Essentials

Best Things to Do in the North Cascades

Six ways to spend your time, from a turquoise lake right off the highway to a demanding climb into the high country.

See

Diablo Lake Overlook

A pullout right along Highway 20 with a sweeping view of the lake's striking turquoise water, no hiking required.

The signature view
Do

Hike to Cascade Pass

A series of switchbacks climbing to a high alpine pass with views deep into the park's glaciated interior.

Full day · confident hikers
Explore

North Cascades Visitor Center

A well-regarded exhibit hall with a 3D relief map and films on the park's glaciers, geology, and wildlife.

Everyone · 45 min
Do

Visit Stehekin by boat

A remote, roadless village reachable only by boat, floatplane, or trail, deep in the park's Lake Chelan area.

Full day to overnight · ferry required
Do

Climb Sourdough Mountain

A steep, strenuous trail to a historic fire lookout with 360-degree views, one of the toughest day hikes in the park.

Full day · very strenuous
See

Stargaze along the highway

Minimal light pollution along much of Highway 20 makes for excellent stargazing on clear nights.

Stargazers · after dark
Free · Ready in Seconds
Free AI Trip Planner

Plan Your North Cascades Trip

Answer a few questions right here — we'll map your day, stop by stop, with a route, timings, weather, and a packing checklist grounded in real park data. No account, no leaving this page.

Free preview · no card required
Sponsored · Park Hub
Your adventure, printed
Field-guide posters and the passport book, from our shop.
When the Crowds ComeMonthly visitors · tap a year
Illustrative shape · wires to official NPS visitation stats · summer peaks shown in gold
Dark Skies Over the Cascades
"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."
Edward Abbey
North Cascades · Mile 03 · Trails & Viewpoints

Best Hikes in the North Cascades, by Difficulty

Every trail rated honestly, with distance, climb, and a reminder that most of this park has no road access at all.

Diablo Lake Overlook

Easy
0.1 miflat~15 min

A short walk from the parking pullout to the classic turquoise-lake overlook. No permit.

Diablo Lake Trail

Easy–Mod
7.6 mi+500 ft~4 hr

A longer lakeside trail following the shoreline, quieter than the overlook pullout above. No permit.

Cascade Pass Trail

Moderate
7.4 mi+1,800 ft~5 hr

A series of switchbacks to a high alpine pass with sweeping views into the park's glaciated core. No permit.

Sourdough Mountain Trail

Extreme
10.8 mi+5,000 ft8–10 hr

A relentlessly steep climb to a historic fire lookout, one of the most demanding day hikes in the park. No permit.

Newhalem Creek Trails

Easy
1.8 miflat~1 hr

A network of easy loop trails near the visitor center through old-growth forest along the Skagit River. No permit.

Ferry required · overnight camping permit separate

Stehekin Valley Trails

Strenuous
VariablevariableFull day to multi-day

A network of trails accessible only after a ferry or floatplane journey into the remote Stehekin valley.

No permit for most day hikes · free backcountry permits for overnight camping · State Route 20 closes completely every winter, with reopening timing not fully predictable year to year

North Cascades National Park at a Glance
1  North Cascades Visitor Center
2  Diablo Lake Vista Point
3  Cascade Pass Trail
4  Sourdough Mountain Trailhead
5  Stehekin
6  Newhalem Creek Trails
Stops shown in visit order. Build a plan above and this map updates to your exact stops.
North Cascades · Mile 04 · Life Among the Glaciers

Wildlife in the North Cascades: Animals You Might See

Tap any animal to learn its story. Soon, the app will let you log what you spot and keep a life list for every park.

One of the last remaining wild grizzly populations in Washington state, extremely rare and rarely encountered by visitors.

Has begun naturally recolonizing parts of the North Cascades in recent decades after historical extirpation.

Common on the park's steep, rocky slopes, well adapted to the alpine terrain above treeline.

Nests on the park's cliffs, hunting marmots and other small mammals across the alpine zone.

A threatened species requiring the coldest, cleanest streams, found in several of the park's glacially fed waterways.

Common in the park's high alpine meadows, its distinctive whistle a frequent sound on summit trails.

Found among the park's talus slopes and rockfalls, sensitive to warming temperatures at these elevations.

Plant Life in the North Cascades: What Grows Here

Common in the park's lower-elevation old-growth forest, part of some of the last remaining ancient forest in the region.

Blooms in alpine meadows immediately after snowmelt, one of the first wildflowers to appear each summer.

Found near the treeline throughout the park, often stunted and wind-shaped at the highest elevations it can survive.

Common in the park's high meadows each summer, adding bright red color to the alpine landscape.

Forms low mats across the park's alpine zone, one of the hardiest plants able to survive the short growing season.

Found at higher elevations throughout the park, tolerant of the heavy snowpack common at this latitude and altitude.

Fun Facts About the North Cascades

Fact 01

North Cascades contains more than 300 glaciers, the most of any national park in the contiguous United States.

Fact 02

No road crosses the park's rugged interior; State Route 20 only skirts its southern edge, and closes completely each winter.

Fact 03

In 2026, winter storm damage and a spring rockslide delayed the highway's reopening well past its typical spring date, with repairs finishing in June.

Fact 04

The remote village of Stehekin, within the park's boundaries, is reachable only by boat, floatplane, or trail, with no road access at all.

North Cascades · Provisions
Gear for this parkvia AvantLink
Layered rain jacketREI
Trekking polesBackcountry
Bear-resistant food canisterOsprey
Stay nearbyvia Hipcamp
Forest sites near Newhalem
Along the Skagit River, old-growth forest shade included, from $24 a night.
Free North Cascades checklistdigital · $0
The printable trail and packing checklist in the field-guide style. Take it, join the trail list.
North Cascades · Mile 05 · From the Field Journal

Go Deeper on the North Cascades

Stories, guides, and hard-won tips from the trail. The full North Cascades deep dive lives on the journal.

Trip Planning

Checking Highway 20 Conditions Before You Go

Read the guide →
Access

Getting to Stehekin Without a Road

Read the guide →
Itinerary

1 Perfect Day Along the North Cascades Highway

Read the guide →
Sponsored · Park Hub
The field guide, in your pocket
Offline maps and your passport. Join the app waitlist.
Sponsored · Park Hub
Free North Cascades checklist
The printable trail and packing list, in the field-guide style.
★North CascadesPark Hub · Collected
Your passport

One stamp,
one story.

Log the visit, keep your story, and watch the map of all sixty-three fill in behind you. Every stamp has a keepsake worth holding.

North Cascades · Mile 06 · Where to Next

Keep the Journey Going

The collection

All 63 Parks

See the full map and track every stamp you have earned.

View the map → Plan

Build a Trip

Turn North Cascades into a road trip with a custom, day-by-day itinerary.

Start planning → Go deeper

The North Cascades Deep Dive

The long-form guide: every trail, season, and secret, on the journal.

Read it → Explore more

63 Parks, One Map

Find your next stamp anywhere in the country.

Browse parks →
More from Park Hub
The App
Coming soon

Carry the field guide

Offline maps, your passport, and every park in your pocket on the trail.

The Book
Keepsake

The Park Hub field guide

The printed edition, part atlas, part journal, one story per park.

The Shop
Prints · pins · passport

Take North Cascades home

Field-guide posters, enamel stamps, and the passport book to fill in.

Eighteen parks remain
"The parks do not belong to one state or to one section... they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona."
Stephen Mather · first director of the National Park Service
Begin your journey