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North Cascades National Park comprises over 500,000 acres of wilderness in the Cascades range in Washington State north of Seattle.
Table of Contents
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About North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is one of three National Parks in Washington State. Here are some facts:
- It covers over 500,000 acres of land.
- The Skagit River flows through it.
- Drive-in campgrounds are in the surrounding areas, there are boat, horse, and hike-in campgrounds within the park itself. For more information about camping in the park visit this NPS page.
- For backcountry hiking in the park, there’s a backcountry permit system.
- In relation to a major metropolitan area, the park is North of Seattle, Washington and includes parts of Whatcom, Chelan, and Skagit counties.
- In general, ebikes are permitted in the park in areas where standard bikes are permitted but bikes are off-limits in certain areas of the park. For more information, view their rules on the topic.
- In general, pets are not allowed in the park except for dogs on leash on the PCT and within 50 feet of roads (see this page for more information). Service animals, of course, are allowed.
Map
Below is a map of the general location of North Cascades National Park. I do not recommed that you use the GPS for this location to find your directions to the park, however. Please check the NPS website for directions and a park map. We’ll likely add another map of points in the park in the future as we visit them.
If you have a map pin you’d like to add, you can add a map location here.
North Cascades National Park
This is a map page with the North Cascades National Park location of the West Entrance to the park. For more information about the park, you can also visit our Glossary page entry on the park.
North Cascades National Park is one of three National Parks in Washington State (along with Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park).
It's about two hours drive North of Seattle.
The map on this page is to the West entrance of the park, off Hwy 20.
Note that the most recent policy just states that ebikes are allowed, you should check their website for any updates. There are a few places in the park where ebikes are NOT allowed.
Note that while we added "pets on leash OK" here, you should check their website here for specifics as they are only allowed in certain areas of the park. Service animals, of course, are allowed.
Routes
When we add any hiking or cycling routes around the park, we’ll add them here.
If you have a route you’d like to add you can add a route here.
Photos
If you’re interested in adding an image to this gallery, you must be registered and logged in to access the photo upload form below this gallery
Books and Guides
Below are a few useful maps and guides for visiting North Cascades National Park.
- National Geographic North Cascades N.P. #223 by Washington – TI00000223
- National Geographic Maps (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 2 Pages – 01/01/2024 (Publication Date) – National Geographic Maps (Publisher)
- Romano, Craig (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 384 Pages – 07/02/2020 (Publication Date) – Mountaineers Books (Publisher)
- Molvar, Erik (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 440 Pages – 05/03/2019 (Publication Date) – Falcon Guides (Publisher)
Questions and Answers
Below is a forum for asking (and answering) questions, you can also find it on our forums page. If you have an answer to a posted question, please feel free to post your answer.
Wikipedia and List of On and Off-Site Related Resources
When available, we import some Wikipedia information to supplement terms. If available, you’ll find that below followed by a list of on and offsite related articles and automatically linked articles on our website that mention this term. Note that you’ll need to scroll down below the Wikipedia stuff to find the related content list. We hope to change this in the future.
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North Cascades National Park is a national park of the United States in Washington. At more than 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through the reservoirs of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any American national park.
| North Cascades National Park | |
|---|---|
 Cascade Pass and Pelton Basin | |
  Location in Washington  Location in the United States | |
| Location | Whatcom, Skagit, and Chelan counties, Washington, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Sedro-Woolley, Washington |
| Coordinates | 48°49′58″N 121°20′51″W / 48.83278°N 121.34750°W |
| Area | 504,654 acres (2,042.26 km2) |
| Established | October 2, 1968 |
| Visitors | 30,154 (in 2022) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | North Cascades National Park |
The region was first settled by Paleo-Indian Native Americans; by the time European American explorers arrived, it was inhabited by Skagit tribes. By the early 19th century, the region was visited by fur trappers and several British and American companies vied for control over the fur trade. After the Canada–United States border was set at the 49th parallel in 1846, explorers came to chart potential routes through the mountains for roads and railroads. Limited mining and logging occurred from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The first significant human impact in the region occurred in the 1920s when several dams were built in the Skagit River valley to generate hydroelectric power. Environmentalists then campaigned to preserve the remaining wilderness, culminating on October 2, 1968, with the designation of North Cascades National Park.
Heavy snows and a high risk of avalanches due to the steep terrain, especially on the western slopes, severely limit visitation in the winter. Most access to the park is from State Route 20, which follows the Skagit River, though even this road is closed for months at a time in the winter. Most of the plant and animal species native to the park region are still found there, though climate change and pollutants from industrialized regions to the west pose risks to the environment. The park has one of the earliest and longest lasting research programs dedicated to studying climate change, primarily through examining the effects of glacial retreat.
North Cascades National Park is almost entirely protected as wilderness, and so the park has few structures, roads or other improvements. Visitors wishing to drive to a campground must do so in the adjacent national forests or national recreation areas. Camping inside the park requires hiking in by trail, horseback or boat, and camping is regulated by a permit system to ensure the wilderness is not over-exploited. Mountaineering is popular in the park and only unobtrusive clean climbing is allowed.
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