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North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area are open year round, but access is limited by snow in winter. The highest visitation is in August, with the lowest in January. These area average just under 400,000 visitors per year.
North Cascades National Park Service Complex consists of North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.
North Cascades National Park contains some of America's most breathtakingly beautiful scenery, high jagged peaks, steep ridges, deep valleys, countless cascading waterfalls and over 300 glaciers within its 505,000 acres (202,000 hectares).
Ross Lake National Recreation Area (118,000 acres, 47,200 hectares) provides the corridor for the scenic Washington State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, and includes three reservoirs: 12,000-acre (4,800-hectare) Ross Lake, 910-acre (364-hectare) Diablo Lake, and 210-acre (84-hectare) Gorge Lake, water gateways to more remote areas.
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (62,000 acres, 24,800 hectares) rests in a glacially carved trough in the Cascades Range. Lake Chelan reaches a depth of 1,500 feet (450 meters), making it one of the nation's deepest lakes, and offers opportunities for boating, fishing, and lakeshore camping. Though the average width is less than two miles (3.2 kilometers), Lake Chelan extends almost 55 miles (88 kilometers) into the Cascade Mountains. At its deepest point Lake Chelan drops to 400 feet (120 meters) below sea level. The upper four miles (6.4 kilometers) of this lake are in the National Recreation Area as is the Stehekin River Drainage.
Over 93% of the three National Park Service areas comprising the Complex are included in the Stephen Mather Wilderness. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988 by which the U.S. Congress established the Stephen Mather Wilderness and wilderness areas in Washington State's other national parks: Mount Rainier and Olympic. Public Law 100-668 was signed on 16 November 1988. The name of the designated Wilderness with the North Cascades National Park Service Complex honors the first director of the National Park Service.
| Visitor Center | Location | Hours | Phone |
| North Cascades | Newhalem (milepost 120 on Stateroad 20) in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area.Newhalem (milepost 120 on Stateroad 20) in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. | Extended Hours - Jul - beg Sep 8:30 am to 5:00 pm - Apr - Jun, Sep - Nov |
206-386-4495 |
| Golden West | Stehekin Landing in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. | 8:00 am to 4:30 pm - Daily - Jun - Aug Shorter hours mid Mar - May, Sep - mid Oct |
360-856-5700 ext 340 then 14 |
| Area | Days | Hours | Phone |
| Darrington Ranger District | Daily | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm | 360-436-1155 |
| Glacier Public Service Center | Daily | 8:30 am - 4:30 pm | 360-599-2714 |
| Heather Meadows Visitor Center | Daily | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm | |
| Lake Wenatchee Ranger District | Mon - Sat | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm | 509-763-3103 |
| Lake Chelan National Recreation Area | Daily | 7:45 am - 4:30 pm | 509-682-2549 (NPS) 509-682-2576 (USFS) |
| Leavenworth Ranger District | Mon - Sat | 7:45 am - 4:30 pm (Sun am permits only) |
509-782-1413 |
| Marblemount Wilderness Center Ross Lake National Recreational Area |
Fri - Sun Mon - Thu |
7:00 am - 8:00 pm 7:00 am - 6:00 pm |
360-873-4500 ext 37 or 39 |
| Mt Baker - Snoquaimie National Forest | Mon - Fri | 425-775-9702 800-627-0062 TDD 800-272-1215 |
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| Sedro-Wooley | Sat - Thu Fri |
8:00 am - 4:30 pm 8:00 am - 6:00 pm |
360-865-5700 |
| Skykomish Ranger District | Daily | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm | 360-677-2414 |
| Snoqualmie Pass Visitor Center | Thu - Sun | 8:30 am - 4:45 pm | 425-434-6111 |
| TWISP Office Methow Valley Ranger District | Mon - Fri | 7:45 am - 4:30 pm | 509-997-2131 |
| Verlot (Darrington Ranger District) | Daily | 8:00 am - 4:30 pm | 360-691-7791 |
| Winthrop Methow Valley Visitor Center | Daily | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm | 509-996-4000 |
Some activities to do while visiting North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area are but not limited to: backcountry camping, hiking, mountain climbing, fishing, horseback riding, wildlife and bird watching, scenery viewing, boating. Facilities include hiking trails, horse rentals nearby, small boat rentals, and professional guide, climbing, packtrain services.
Most scheduled programs take place July through September and during winter holidays. Regularly scheduled programs during the summer range from talks and demonstrations at the visitor centers to guided hikes, children's programs, and evening presentations in the campgrounds. Topics span a wide range of natural and cultural history. The park complex has many wayside exhibits, museum exhibits at both visitor centers, and 5 self-guiding interpretive trails. The Newhalem Creek Rockshelter Trail (universally accessible), has interpretation about archeology and the long span of human activity in the North Cascades. It is located off State Route 20 near the town of Newhalem in Ross Lake NRA.
Junior Ranger activity booklets are available at the North Cascades Visitor Center and the Golden West Visitor Center. Complete the activities and be awarded a certificate and a pin. This is a free.
Summer daily programs especially for kids at Colonial Creek Campground along the North Cascades Highway (milepost 134) and the Golden West Visitor Center in Stehekin near the head of Lake Chelan. These programs are made possible through a generous donation from Washington's National Park Fund.
| Area | Time | Activity |
| Colonial Creek Amphitheater | Weekend | Evening Ranger Programs |
| Golden West Visitor Center | Daily | Mini-talks, weekend programs |
| Heather Meadows | Guided Walks | |
| Newhalem Creek Amphitheater | Weekend | Evening Programs |
| North Cascades Visitor Center | Daily | Walks, talks, and multi-media programs |
| Skatit Wild and Scenic River | Winter weekends | Eagle watching, slide programs, and nature viewing |
Earth Day and Week are marked each year with special guided hikes, talks, potluck, etc. at the North Cascades Visitor Center and elsewhere in Ross Lake National Recreation Area.
The Golden West Gallery in the Golden West Visitor Center at Stehekin during the summer features new exhibits every 3 weeks of work by artists and craftspeople of the area. Workshops and other programs by the exhibitors demonstrate or explain their work and how the landscape of the North Cascades has inspired them.
Copyright © 1995 - 2007 Hillclimb Media
This site is in no way associated with the United States Government, the Department of the Interior or the National Park Service
