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| General Hiking Information | Hiking Trails | Ten Essentials |
General Hiking Information
Hiking in North Cascades National Park can be a fun and rewarding experience as in other national parks. It is a great way to both see and experience the park.
There are 386 miles of maintained trails, many steeply taking you to absolutely breathtaking alpine scenery, and over 200 designated backcountry campsites.
Lower elevation trails are usually accessible from early April through mid-October. Higher elevation trails (which is most of the North Cascades backcountry), however, do not open until mid-July and remain accessible through late September.
Permits are required for all overnight stays in the backcountry. Camping is only permitted at designated campsites or in a cross-country manner (which requires you to be more than 0.5 mile (0.83 km) from trails and more than one mile (1.7 km) from designated campsites). Party size is limited to 12 (6 in cross-country zones) and campfires are prohibited in subalpine areas. Pets are not allowed on any trail in North Cascades National Park except the Pacific Crest Trail, where they must be on a leash. Leashed pets are allowed on trails within Ross Lake and Lake Chelan NRA.
The Ten Essentials
Whenever you hike in the backcountry, whether overnight or just for a morning, always be sure to bring the "ten essentials:"
Extra clothing, including rain gear, made of wool or water-repellent synthetic.
Extra food
Sunglasses
First aid kit
Matches
Fire starter, such as candle stubs, solid chemical fuel, or other starter that will work in wet conditions
Flashlight
Knife
Map
Compass
Other things useful to bring along include at least one full water bottle, toilet paper, sunscreen, insect repellent, a whistle, and water treatment chemicals.
Water
Do not consider any waterfalls, streams, or lakes to be safe for drinking. Giardia is a naturally occurring organism that can cause severe and long-lasting intestinal problems. Contamination by human or animal waste, or decomposing vegetation and animals upstream from you can result in dangerously elevated levels of a variety of bacteria and other organisms in the water.
| Trail | Location | Comments |
| Happy Creek Forest | North Cascades Highway | Universal access. |
| Imus Creek | Stehekin | |
| McKellar Cabin | Stehekin | |
| Rainbow Mist | Stehekin | |
| Rainy Lake | North Cascades Highway | Paved 1 mile universal access trail to Rainy Lake (USFS) |
| Shadow of the Sentinels | Baker Lake | Universal access loop trail through old-growth forest. (USFS) |
| Sterling Munro | Newhalem | Short universal access trail on boardwalk with views of Pickett Range |
| Thunder Woods | Colonial Creek | |
| Thunder Woods | Colonial Creek | |
| To Know a Tree | Newhalem | |
| Trail of the Cedars | Newhalem | Universal access |
| Trail of the Obelisk | Hozomeen |
| Trail | Length (miles one-way) | Trailhead | Comments |
| Happy Creek Forest Walk | 0.3 | Stateroad 20 Milepost 134.5 | Universal access |
| Ladder Creek Falls | 0.4 | Starts at suspension bridge to Gorge Powerhouse in Newhalem level | Interpretive signs some steep steeps and handrails, flower gardens, colored lights, beautiful pools and falls |
| Lower Newhalem Creek | 0.7 | Starts along service road between Newhalem Creek campground loops C and D, then turns right just beyond bridge (route is unsigned) | |
| Newhalem Creek Campground / Amphitheater | 0.4 | Connects Visitor Center to Newhalem Creek Campground loops A and B | |
| River Loop | 0.9 | West of Newhalem Creek Campground | Forested walk to river |
| Sterling Munro | 330 ft boardwalk | NW corner of Visitor Center | Universal access |
| To Know a Tree | 0.5 | Newhalem Creek Campground Loop A | Skirts Newhalem Creek Campground, nearly level, interpretative signs describing common trees and plants. |
| To Know a Tree | 0.5 | Newhalem Creek Campground Loop A | Skirts Newhalem Creek Campground, nearly level, interpretative signs describing common trees and plants. |
| Trail of the Cedars | 0.3 | Starts at suspension bridge south of General Store in Newhalem | Level, interpretive signs. |
| Trail | Length (miles roundtrip) | Difficulty | Elevation Gain | Comments |
| Diablo Lake | 7.6 | Easy | 400 ft | Trailhead near Ross Lake Resort |
| East Bank | 0.5 - 62 | Easy - moderate | 200 - 5,000 ft | 0.5 mile (round-trip) walk to Ruby Creek bridge (easy), 31 miles (one-way) from Ruby Creek trailhead on North Cascades Highway to Hozomeen (moderate). |
| Fourth of July Pass / Panther Creek | 10.0 | Moderate | 2,900 ft | 0.8 miles (one-way) to suspension bridge (easy). |
| Pyramid Lake | 4.2 | Moderate | 1,500 ft | Steep forest, stream, small lake. |
| Ross Dam | 1.5 | Easy | - 500 ft | Steep on the way back up. |
| Thornton Lakes | 10.4 | Moderate | 2,300 ft | Makes for a long day hike; permit needed for overnight. |
| Thunder Creek | 1.6 - 38 | Easy - difficult | Level - 6,300 ft | 6.5 miles (one-way) from Colonial Creek campground to McAllister Creek (easy)18 miles (one-way) to Park Creek Pass (strenuous). |
| Trail | Length (miles roundtrip) | Difficulty | Elevation Gain | Comments |
| Agnes Gorge | 5.0 | Easy | 400 ft | Excellent views of Agnes Mountain and spectacular Agnes Gorge. |
| Bridge Creek | 28.6 | Moderate | 2,600 ft | Pacific Crest Trail. |
| Cascade Pass (east side) | 15.2 | Moderate | 2,600 ft | Well-used trail through talus slopes and wooded ridge. |
| Coon Lake | 2.4 | Moderate | 600 ft | Excellent place for watching birds. |
| Goode Ridge Lookout | 10.8 | Strenuous | 4,800 ft | Old fire lookout with a panoramic view. |
| Lakeshore | 13.0 - 25.0 | Easy - moderate | 900 - 3,000 ft | Follows north shore of Lake Chelan, 6.5 miles (one-way) from Stehekin to Moore Point 17.5 miles (one-way) from Stehekin to Prince Creek. |
| McGregor Mountain | 15.4 | Very strenuous | 6,525 ft | Steep hike to excellent views. |
| Rainbow Loop | 8.8 | Moderate | 1,000 ft | Bluffs overlooking Stehekin Valley and Lake Chelan. |
| Stehekin River | 8.0 | Easy | Level | Trail follows river. Beaver ponds, birds, fishing holes. |
| Trail | Length (miles roundtrip) | Difficulty | High Point | Comments |
| Cascade Pass (west side) | 7.0 | Moderate | 5,384 ft | Extremely popular trail accessible via gravel Cascade River Road. Access to Sahale Arm, Horseshoe Basin, and Stehekin. Meadows are fragile, please stay on trail at all times! |
| Colonial Creek Campground - Stehekin Valley | 59.8 | Moderate - strenuous | 6,040 ft | Spectacular old growth forest in the first 10 miles. This valley drains 10 percent of all the glaciers in the contiguous United States. |
| Easy Pass | 7.0 | Strenuous | 6,562 ft | Not easy / snowmelts in late July or August. |
| McAlester Pass - Rainbow Lake Loop | 25.5 | Moderate - strenuous | 6,500 ft | Challenging crossing of Rainbow Creek and snowfields. |
| Hannegan Pass - Ross Lake | 92.0 | Moderate - strenuous | 5,206 ft | Wildflowers, glacier views, and waterfalls. |
Water is the essence of the North Cascades. It falls from the sky, melts off glaciers, rages in rivers and - most dramatically - plunges from high places in spectacular waterfalls. Waterfalls are so abundant in these mountains that they are the characteristic that gave the Cascades their name. Here are a few worth checking out.
| Waterfall | Location | Description |
| Gorge Creek | Between Newhalem & Diablo on North Cascades Hwy SR 20 | Gorge Creek drops 242 feet in s breathtaking plunge. A large parking lot is near the falls. |
| Ladder Creek | Milepost 121 on the North Cascade Hwy SR 20 | Cross a suspension bridge behind Gorge Powerhouse in Newhalem. Follow the signs. Trail includes some steep steps and handrails, flashlights are advisable at night. |
| Nooksack | Milepost 41 on Mt. Baker Hwy SR 542 near the town of Glacier | North Fork Nooksack River drops more than 100 ft into a roaring mass of boilingwater. |
| Rainbow Falls (Baker Lake) | Baker Lake Basin | Rainbow Creek cascades down a steep gorge with more than a 100 foot drop. |
| Rainbow Falls ( Stehekin) | Above Stehekin Valley in the snowfields of Rainbow Ridge | Waters of Rainbow Creek plunge 312 feet in a misty cascade. |
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