Aug 05 2026
Washington is home to three national parks, and together they protect an extraordinary cross-section of the Pacific Northwest. Mount Rainier National Park surrounds the highest mountain in the Cascade Range and some of the most celebrated wildflower meadows in America. Olympic National Park combines glacier-covered mountains, temperate rain forests, old-growth forests, lakes, rivers, and more …
Sep 28 2024
North Cascades National Park protects one of the wildest mountain landscapes in the contiguous United States, and its wildlife reflects that ruggedness. Black bears forage in forests and avalanche chutes, mountain goats traverse cliffs that appear almost impossible to climb, hoary marmots whistle from subalpine meadows, and pikas disappear among high-elevation talus slopes. Some of …
Sep 28 2024
Diablo Lake is one of the most recognizable landscapes in the North Cascades, famous for intensely turquoise water surrounded by steep, forested mountains and jagged peaks. The lake lies along Washington’s North Cascades Highway, making it one of the easiest places to experience dramatic mountain scenery within the North Cascades National Park Service Complex without …
Sep 28 2024
Ross Lake stretches through one of the wildest mountain landscapes in Washington, a long blue-green reservoir surrounded by steep forests, jagged peaks, remote valleys, and miles of backcountry shoreline. Unlike nearby Diablo Lake, which can be admired directly from the North Cascades Highway, Ross Lake requires visitors to make a little more effort. There is …
Sep 28 2024
Grizzly bears once occupied the North Cascades for thousands of years, moving through river valleys, berry-covered mountain slopes, avalanche chutes, subalpine meadows, and remote wilderness stretching across what is now Washington and British Columbia. By the twentieth century, however, decades of trapping, hunting, bounty programs, and other human pressures had reduced their numbers to the …
Sep 28 2024
North Cascades National Park protects some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the Pacific Northwest. Jagged peaks rise above deep forests, glaciers cling to high ridges, turquoise reservoirs fill narrow mountain valleys, and hundreds of miles of trails disappear into wilderness that remains surprisingly remote. Unlike parks where the biggest attractions sit directly beside …
Sep 28 2024
North Cascades National Park contains some of the most spectacular hiking terrain in Washington, with trails leading through old-growth forests, beside turquoise lakes, across subalpine meadows, and toward glaciers and jagged mountain passes. The scenery can feel surprisingly wild for a national park within a few hours of Seattle. The challenge is deciding where to …
Jul 06 2024
North Cascades National Park protects one of the wildest and most spectacular mountain landscapes in the contiguous United States. Jagged peaks rise above deep forested valleys, glaciers cling to steep cirques, waterfalls pour from hanging basins, and brilliant turquoise lakes collect water flowing from the high country. Located in northern Washington near the Canadian border, …
