Day 1: Gorge Lake, Diablo Lake, Blue Lake Trail hike, Winthrop WA
Our two days and nights in North Cascades was part of a larger road trip touring Washington’s national parks, but for the sake of giving it the spotlight it deserves, we’re separating it into its own post.
North Cascades doesn’t get the love it should, it’s a bit of an outlier among Washington’s national parks and has only been designated one since 1968. It receives a mere 30,000 visitors a year and is free to enter. The park has its own unique topography, beauty and underappreciated history. There are a few select trails adjacent to the park that may charge a trailhead fee of $5/day, but they are few and far between and can be covered by a simple day pass obtained at the visitor’s center or by displaying your annual pass in a handy mirror placard. For our extended itinerary, we were excited to get an annual National Park’s pass for $80 as it was economical and convenient. We bought an annual pass last year when we were visiting Zion and Bryce in Utah and were itching to use it for a year as it was expiring soon. It was burning a hole in my pocket (should say the desk drawer where I left it) and…whoops I forgot it back home! You’ll need the actual card and your ID, they don’t look you up in the system or anything. You can put two signatures on the card, which they might check against your ID…but more than likely they will not.
State Route 20, AKA North Cascades Highway, goes through North Cascades NP. Stunning scenery throughout the drive.
If you only have a few days to kill, this would be a lovely two and a half hour getaway from Seattle to take in some natural wonders at a much slower pace than say, Mount Rainier National Park, with its two million(!) yearly visitors. Full disclosure: do all the national parks if you’re able to, but North Cascades can slide nicely into a short window for a long weekend out of the city or impromptu roadtrip. Okay, now for your arrival!
We entered the park from the south and followed along the Skagit River before arriving at the visitor’s center. We obtained hiking and park maps and knew we still wanted to get a hike in this afternoon. First, we walked a few paved areas to take in some views of Gorge Lake (incorporate this short trail from the parking lot if you’re feeling froggy), with it’s unique hue of glacial water – caused by glaciers grinding rocks into powder and mixing together.
Gorge Trail .3 mile loop
Next, we drove a bit farther into the park to see one of the biggest attractions, Diablo Lake. It’s a stunning sight, with similarly brilliant colored water. There is a Diablo Lake Trail running along the northern shore, which we were unable to fit in, but I’m certain it’s a treat. They also run a ferry across the lake on a varying schedule, so plan ahead if you’re interested. Sarah had preselected the Blue Lake Trail as our target for the afternoon and this was also one of the recommendations from a ranger when asked about must see trails.
Diablo Lake
Blue Lake Trail is a 4.4 mile out and back trail climbing through subalpine forests and meadows to a deep, blue mountain lake. As it states on the trail map, it does require a Northwest Forest Pass ($5/day as mentioned earlier OR use your annual pass), but you got in here for free and I can’t think of a more worthy way to spend a fiver. There is a decent sized parking lot with a restroom on site, but you might find parking a bit competitive depending on when you arrive.
We started our hike in the early afternoon and ended up parking just off the shoulder of the main road. The trail was steady, had some nice climbs and wound through equally beautiful forests, airy, wildflower-surrounded clearings and offered a number of nice views…and that’s just the parts before you behold the absolutely lovely lake! We gladly sat by the lake for a half hour snapping photos and finding a place to spread out right by the shoreline.
This trail had the perfect pay off to exertion ratio (not sure that’s an official measure, but you get the idea). By this point in our trip, we figured out that you could wear shorts when it was 70F and not freeze to death. We were coming to the end of our list of hikes and closing in on the tail of our trip, so we savored these moments even more.
Blue Lake
By the time we returned to our vehicle, the parking lot had thinned out significantly and we hopped in bound for our hotel in the wild-west reminiscent town of Winthrop, WA. Sarah conveniently had us stay east of North Cascades on the first night so we didn’t have to crisscross the park and our post hike driving was minimal.
The main drag of Winthrop definitely warrants a walk, it’s pretty happening with breweries, bakeries and little historical bits. Our hotel was very comfortable and boutiquey and right above a Mexican restaurant, so that was a convenient dinner for tired legs. We watched a young deer munch on grass from our hotel stairs a few yards away, then proceed to go and eat shrubs next to our car. Nature seems to find you if you don’t go out and seek it yourself!
Hotel: Duck Brand Hotel and Cantina, Winthrop, WA
Day 2: Winthrop, WA, Cascade Pass Trail, Concrete, WA
Our last full day in Washington…sigh. Today we would traverse back across the park to hike the Cascade Pass Trail. Now, this drive was in the two hour range to get back across the park, but it would see us hike an outstanding trail and put us closer to our hotel for the evening. As a result, the journey back to Seattle the next day was a breeze. This was the other highly touted trail by both rangers and hiking enthusiasts alike and I agree with them. The trail is rated as hard, but I honestly see it as more moderate. It’s roughly seven miles in length and a pretty steady incline gain throughout. The first chunk of it contains most of that gain and its (dare I say?) gentle switchbacks are quite manageable. You’ll have many unobstructed views of peaks and potentially see and or hear falling ice/snow in the form of mini avalanches across the way.
Here is something I wish we knew, not that it would have changed our mind. The last leg of the drive to the trailhead is on an…ummm…challenging gravel road. On the way there it was about 40 minutes (felt like 3 hours for the driver) on the loose gravel with overgrown “shoulders” butting up to steep dropoffs. It’s definitely not the time to sip a coffee or play with the radio! The road eventually tapers to a very tight thoroughfare (really one way in one way out) flanked by cars parked on both sides as you near the start of the popular trail. I recommend getting here early and taking the drive nice and slow. Many people who are more seasoned mountain folk will be zipping through, just find a place to pull over a bit and let them tear the road up as you go ten and two on your steering wheel 🙂 There are two bathrooms at the trailhead and you might need them after that drive. You know it’s worth it when that many people go off the beaten path to partake in a hike, so don’t fret! We took plenty of time to stretch and prepare our supplies and were ready to soak up our very last hike…bittersweet!
We actually completed this hike in around four hours, much quicker than I anticipated. The last piece of the hike before you get to the top is perhaps the most unique, especially when snow is in play. It opens to (I guess what you might call) a ridgeline along the side of the cliff covered in loose rock (and snow) and allows for one person to pass at a time. Take this piece slow as the footing is pretty unforgiving and unpredictable. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen snow, but if memory serves me, traction on it can be an added challenge. This stretch offered some really great pictures and saw people on the trail really cooperate with each other for safe passage. You’re only a stone’s throw away at this point so press on.
At the end you ascend to an area where you can sit and gaze far down into the pass and see the mountain range go on well beyond the horizon. What could make this better…you said mountain goats, right? We watched as a family of mountain goats hopped around mere feet from the trail and munched on roughage without a care in the world. I like this….a lot! Made us miss our dogs more….they like eating grass and garbage too, but are slightly less likely to break your hip with a headbutt.
Mountain Goats
As we got a later start than we anticipated, our trip back down the trail saw us encounter relatively few new hikers. After re-traversing the aforementioned snowy, rocky fun part, it was a steady decline, reasonably gentle on legs that saw a week of great hiking.
Once we made it back to the parking lot, we made sure to do a cool down stretch and jumped in our car much less angsty about the drive back. The gravel road was no match for our new found, mountain goat inspired courage and breezed right by. After weaving our way back to a nice, paved two-lane road (relief!), we made our way to the hotel in Concrete, WA. We had a comfortable stay and reluctantly began to pack up for the return trip to Florida.
Hotel: Mt. Baker Hotel, Concrete, WA
Day 3: Back to Seattle
We enjoyed our last night being able to sleep with the windows open and got an early start back towards the airport. The drive was under two hours and being a Sunday, was free of traffic. Time to deposit our dirty, off road weary vehicle at the rental car return and head to the terminal.
This was a remarkable trip for us. Sarah’s first trip to the Pacific Northwest and a little reminiscent of her native Ireland ; an exceptional respite from the steamy Florida summer. We could not have been more pleased with how this turned out. We were able to strike a nice balance between time on the road, time on the trail and time to unwind and recharge. I hope that you are also able to experience Washington’s natural beauty and one of a kind national parks.
It is my belief that when the world is spinning seemingly out of control, you can always find peace and clarity in the simplicity of nature.
Thank you for following us and I wish you safe and rewarding travels!
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