Sep 28 2024
Lake Crescent is one of Olympic National Park’s most beautiful and accessible destinations, a deep glacial lake surrounded by forested mountains roughly 18 miles west of Port Angeles. Its famously clear blue-green water, historic lodge, old-growth forest, waterfalls, swimming areas, paddling opportunities, and hiking trails make it much more than a scenic stop along Highway …
Sep 28 2024
The Hoh Rain Forest is one of Olympic National Park’s most unforgettable landscapes, a place where enormous Sitka spruce and western hemlock rise above carpets of ferns while moss hangs from bigleaf maples in long green curtains. Rain, mild temperatures, old-growth trees, and the constantly moving Hoh River combine to create one of the finest …
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 …
Sep 26 2024
Mount Rainier National Park is best known for its enormous glacier-covered volcano, but the mountain is also the center of a remarkably diverse wildlife ecosystem. Black bears forage in forests and berry-filled meadows, elk move through valleys and open slopes, hoary marmots whistle from rocky meadows, and mountain goats navigate cliffs high above the park’s …
Sep 24 2024
Mount Rainier National Park contains hundreds of miles of hiking trails ranging from gentle forest walks to demanding alpine routes beneath glaciers and snowfields. Trails climb through wildflower meadows at Paradise, traverse rocky ridges above Sunrise, follow glacier-fed rivers through old-growth forest, and connect remote wilderness camps on the 93-mile Wonderland Trail. The enormous volcano …
