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Cross-Park TreksThese trips require entering and exiting at different trailheads North Park UnitHannegan Pass / Chilliwack River / Little Beaver / Big Beaver / Ross Dam The northern unit of the park has the lowest trail density and is mostly a vast unbroken wilderness surrounding the remote Picket Range. This route crosses three mountain passes (Hannegan Pass, Whatcom Pass, and Beaver Pass), follows several wild, free-flowing creeks and rivers, and winds through the largest stand of massive old-growth western red cedars in the park. Trails included: Hannegan Trail, Chilliwack Trail, Brush Creek Trail, Little Beaver Trail, Big Beaver Trail, Ross Dam Trail Distance: 49.3 mi. / 79.3 km (Hannegan trailhead to Ross Dam trailhead) South Park UnitThunder Creek / Park Creek Pass / Bridge Creek Thunder Creek / Park Creek Pass / Cascade Pass These two routes cross Park Creek Pass and follow the length of the Thunder Creek and Park Creek drainages to/from the Stehekin River. The Cascade Pass option includes a second mountain pass while the Bridge Creek route includes a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail as it passes through the park.
(Bridge Creek route) 42.5 mi / 68.4 km (Thunder Creek trailhead to Bridge Creek trailhead on State Highway 20) (Cascade Pass route) 40.8 mi / 65.7 km (Thunder Creek trailhead to Cascade Pass trailhead)
This route zig-zags its way from Granite Creek on the drier eastern geologic edge of the North Cascades to the wet, glacier-draped precipitation divide at Cascade Pass and includes several spectacular glaciated valleys and cascading mountain creeks and rivers. It traverses three spectacular mountain passes (Easy Pass, Park Creek Pass, Cascade Pass) along the way. Trails included: Easy Pass Trail (Forest Service Trail #741), Fisher Creek Trail, Thunder Creek Trail, Park Creek Trail, Upper Stehekin Valley Trail, Cascade Pass Trail
Walk with the ancients! Humans have been using this route to cross the North Cascades for many centuries. It was part of a trade route between the Puget Sound and interior tribes and is part of the route used by the first documented Euro-American to cross the North Cascades as he was guided to the Skagit River drainage by Indians from the Washington Territory interior. Trails included: Bridge Creek Trail (PCT), Upper Stehekin Valley Trail, Cascade Pass Trail The Great North Cascades TraverseHannegan Pass / Whatcom Pass / Big Beaver Creek / Ross Dam / Panther Creek / Thunder Creek / Bridge Creek / Stehekin River / Lake Chelan See a broad swath of the wild, majestic, rugged, and beautiful country that inspired the creation of North Cascades National Park! This northwest-southeast traverse crosses five mountain passes (Hannegan Pass, Whatcom Pass, Beaver Pass, Fourth of July Pass, and Park Creek Pass) to connect the temperate rainforests of western Washington, in the shadows of volcanic Mount Baker, to the dry interior climate of eastern Washington at the northern end of Lake Chelan, an inland fjord that is the third deepest lake in North America and largest natural lake in Washington State. Trails included: Hannegan Pass Trail (Forest Service Trail #674), Chilliwack River Trail, Brush Creek Trail, Little Beaver Trail, Big Beaver Trail, Happy Panther Trail, Panther Creek Trail, Fourth of July Trail, Thunder Creek Trail, Park Creek Trail, Upper Stehekin Valley Trail, Old Wagon Trail (PCT) and the Stehekin Shuttle. Distance: 105 mi / 169 km (Hannegan trailhead to Stehekin Shuttle stop at High Bridge)
"Loops"There are few true loop hikes in the North Cascades. Most of these selections connect the "loop" with a section of road. Easy Pass / Park Creek Pass / Bridge Creek This loop begins and ends at two different trailheads on State Highway 20.
Purple Pass / Boulder Creek This loop starts and ends in Stehekin.
McAlester Pass / Stehekin / Old Wagon Trail / Bridge Creek Trail This loop starts and ends at the Bridge Creek trailhead on State Highway 20 and would include using the Stehekin Shuttle to complete the loop. It combines the "Stehekin via McAlester Pass" and "Stehekin via Bridge Creek" routes (listed under "Stehekin Treks" below) in addition to the Shuttle service. Hilgard Pass / Ten Mile Pass The overwhelming majority of this "loop" is in the Glacier Peak Wilderness on National Forest lands, but it begins and ends in the Stehekin Valley of Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. The scenery is spectacular and the country is wild. The trailheads are about 0.5 miles apart. Note: The trails are not maintained as frequently as most and the trail tread can be narrow in places.
Stehekin TreksThe village of Stehekin is a rarity in the lower-48 states: a settlement that is not connected by road to the rest of the world. Besides using a float plane, boat, or passenger ferry, there are many ways to hike or ride to Stehekin and the northern end of Lake Chelan. Mix and match to create your own Stehekin adventure! Stehekin via McAlester Pass & McAlester Lake McAlester Pass is a broad, flat, wide pass at 6,000 ft (1825 m), which is highly unusual for the North Cascades. The large meadows on the pass are a-bloom with alpine wildflowers through mid-summer.
Stehekin via Bowan Pass & Rainbow Lake
Stehekin via Cascade Pass If you want to see glaciers up-close and personal on the way to Stehekin, going over Cascade Pass is the way to go.
Stehekin via Bridge Creek This route does not cross any mountain passes and tends to be the best early season route to reach Stehekin from State Highway 20 Stehekin via Lake Chelan Lakeshore Trail This is a very popular route in early season since it is the first snow-free land route into Stehekin in spring and also follows along and above the Lake Chelan shoreline. The Lady of the Lake II ferry can drop hikers off or pick them up (reservation required) at the southern end of the trail, at Prince Creek.
Stehekin via Purple Pass From Purple Pass, the views are wide, form the mountains bounding the Okanogan River to the heart of the Glacier Peak wilderness, including Lake Chelan nearly 6,000 ft below. There are two ways to reach Purple Pass. The War Creek Trail approaches from the northeast and the Chelan Summit Trail approaches from the southeast.
Other Long TreksBelow are some suggestions for those who want to do a long trip with a "highlight" destination that must start and end at the same trailhead. Thunder Creek to Park Creek Pass The Thunder Creek drainage is the most glaciated drainage in the park, and therefore the most glaciated drainage in America outside of Alaska. From Thunder Basin, just below Park Creek Pass, the trail winds through alpine meadows below the imposing and impressive northeast face of Buckner Mountain and the Thunder Glacier.
Bridge Creek / North Fork Bridge Creek and/or Goode Ridge Trail Goode Mountain, at 9,220', is the highest peak in the park, and the fourth highest non-volcanic peak in Washington. Even more impressive is that it rises more than 6,000' above it's base, covering that gain in only 1.6 horizontal miles from the North Fork of Bridge Creek. Goode Mountain is not visible from any road, but it is impossible to ignore while hiking through North Fork Meadows. The Goode Ridge Trail climbs to the 6,700' site of a former fire lookout and is the closest any trail gets to the summit.
Alternate start/end point: This trip can also be done from Stehekin. Add the Old Wagon Trail (PCT) to the list of trails included on the route. Alternate distances (round trip from the Stehekin Shuttle stop at High Bridge): 30.6 mi / 49.2 km (to end of North Fork Trail) East Bank / Desolation Peak Desolation Peak hosts one of the three remaining fire lookouts in the park, and the Desolation Lookout is the only one that is still actively used to spot fires. In 1956, the author Jack Kerouac spent the summer working as the fire lookout on Desolation Peak and wrote about it in two of his more famous works. More than fifty years later, his fans still hike to the lookout in his memory. The views are fabulous and expansive even if you have never heard of Kerouac.
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Last updated: August 7, 2017