If You Only Do One Hike: Cascade Pass Trail. Cascade Pass is the trail that makes people fall in love with the North Cascades. Alpine meadows, glaciers on every horizon, and a reasonable 7.4-mile round trip. This is the gateway to understanding why this park is called the “American Alps.”
| Trail | Distance | Elevation | Difficulty | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade Pass Trail | 7.4 mi RT | 1,800 ft | Moderate-Hard | 4-6 hrs |
| Sahale Arm (from Cascade Pass) | 11.4 mi RT | 4,000 ft | Very Hard | 7-10 hrs |
| Maple Pass Loop | 7.5 mi loop | 2,000 ft | Moderate-Hard | 4-6 hrs |
| Blue Lake Trail | 4.4 mi RT | 1,050 ft | Moderate | 2-3 hrs |
| Diablo Lake Trail | 7.6 mi RT | 1,400 ft | Moderate | 3-5 hrs |
| Thunder Knob Trail | 3.6 mi RT | 600 ft | Easy-Moderate | 1.5-2 hrs |
| Thornton Lakes Trail | 10.4 mi RT | 2,600 ft | Hard | 6-8 hrs |
| Happy Creek Forest Walk | 0.3 mi loop | Minimal | Easy | 15 min |
| Rainy Lake Trail | 2.0 mi RT | Minimal | Easy | 45 min |
| Hidden Lake Lookout | 8.0 mi RT | 3,300 ft | Hard | 5-7 hrs |
| Park Creek Trail | Up to 16 mi RT | Varies | Moderate-Hard | Full day |
| Ross Dam Trail | 0.6 mi RT | 400 ft | Easy | 30 min |
| Ladder Creek Falls | 0.3 mi RT | 100 ft | Easy | 15 min |
| Easy Pass Trail | 7.4 mi RT | 2,800 ft | Hard | 5-7 hrs |
| Fourth of July Pass | 10.0 mi RT | 2,000 ft | Moderate-Hard | 5-7 hrs |
North Cascades holds more than 300 glaciers, roughly a third of all the glacial ice in the lower 48, yet it draws fewer visitors in a year than Yosemite sees in a long weekend. Most people drive Highway 20 across it without ever leaving the pavement. The ones who get out and climb find the kind of jagged, ice-hung alpine country that earned this range the nickname the American Alps.
This is a hikers’ park, full stop. The average trail here starts around 10 miles and only gets longer, and up is the name of the game. If steep elevation gain puts you off, a gentler park might suit you better. That said, the list below opens with five short, family-friendly trails before it climbs into the long, glacier-flanked routes that bring serious hikers back year after year.
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Things to Know Before Visiting North Cascades National Park
Entrance Fees
North Cascades National Park has no entrance fee, so you can drive Highway 20 and reach the trailheads for free. There is no timed-entry or vehicle reservation system here either. The bigger limiter is remoteness: services are thin, the high country only fully melts out by mid to late July, and many trailheads sit well off the highway, so plan fuel, food, and water before you arrive.
Sunscreen
At these elevations the sun is fierce even when the air is cold, and snowfields reflect it straight back at you well into July. We carry a reef-safe mineral sunscreen that holds up to sweat on a long climb.
Gas
Fuel up fully before you get into the park. There are no gas stations within North Cascades.
Cell Service
Cell Service is very spotty in the park.
Guide Book
The Best Guide Book for North Cascades National Park is this one.
Map
The Best Map: I like this map best for North Cascades National Park.
Water
Drink it. Lots of it. Don’t forget it in the car.
Best Time to Visit North Cascades National Park
The Best Time to Visit North Cascades is mid-July through September.
Restaurants & Food Options
Food options are limited in the North Cascades area so I recommend getting food beforehand in Burlington and packing it into the park.
Maps of the National Parks
National Parks Checklist Map: This beautiful National Parks Checklist Map can be ordered to your house.
Framed National Parks Map: We’re a sucker for maps, this framed national parks map is the best.
Where to Stay
Visiting North Cascades National Park? If you haven’t decided where to stay (yet) check out our favorite hotel in North Cascades.
15. Trail of the Cedars
- Distance: .6 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Easy
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Time Required: 20-30 minutes
Trail of the Cedars is one of the easiest hikes in North Cascades National Park at just .3 miles round trip and almost no elevation gain. This is a great hike for people of all mobility classes to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and breathe in the fresh forest air.
The trail is located in Newhalem, Washington and starts with a beautiful suspension bridge crossing the Skagit River. From here it’s just a short jaunt through the old-growth forest full of giant cedars, firs, & ferns.
Once you reach the Newhalem Power Station you’ll know it’s time to turn it around and head back the way you came.
14. Gorge Creek Falls Loop
- Distance: .5 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Easy
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Time Required: 15 – 20 minutes
Gorge Creek Falls Loop Trail falls into the easy, leg-stretcher category of hikes in North Cascades National Park. The trail itself is quite flat with beautiful natural scenery but not one of the more spectacular trails in the park by any means.
This is one of a few trails in North Cascades National Park that’s great for families with kids. It can be crowded on weekends as one of the few easy trails in the park so be prepared for company!
13. Ladder Creek Falls Trail
- Distance: .5 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Easy
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Time Required: 30 minutes
Ladder Creek Falls Trail falls into the category of family friendly hikes in North Cascades National Park. This is a short half mile hike featuring cool boardwalks and bridges that leads to a waterfall. For those with small children this is a great trail for the wee ones to explore.
There are a few staircases along the short hike and you can even tour the power dam here to learn about its history if you’re into that. Worth a short stop off to stretch the legs!
12. Sterling Munro Boardwalk Trail
- Distance: .3 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Easy
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Time Required: 15 – 20 minutes
This is more of a short walk, but a rare easy hike in this park so worth adding to the list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park. The Sterling Munro Trail is located just behind the park visitor center in Rockport, Washington and features an accessible boardwalk which leads to beautiful mountain views down the valley.
This is a great family hike if you’re visiting North Cascades National Park with kids as they can run free and wild on the boardwalk while being somewhat contained.
11. Picture Lake Loop Trail
- Distance: .4 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Easy
- Elevation Gain: Minimal
- Time Required: 20 – 30 minutes
I figured I’d include this hike often associated with North Cascades National Park as it’s typically one of the top photos you’ll find featuring the national park that’s not actually taken from the national park. Sorry folks, while this photo is a knockout, and does in fact feature Mount Shuksan which is in North Cascades National Park, the lake (or small pond by my account) is actually in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Well that’s no biggie, right? Let’s just drive right over.. Not so fast, literally. The drive from Picture Lake to North Cascades National Park will take about 2.5 hours. Is it worth it? Yes.
Once you arrive to the Mt Baker Ski Area you’ll find more striking scenery and a network of good trails. The Picture Lake Trail is just .4 miles long with one of the best photo opportunities in the Pacific Northwest. If you want something that looks like this then try going in September when the fall colors start to come in.
while this is a beautiful destination that is worth the visit (and can even be visited in winter despite receiving up to 95 FEET of snow each year!), it’s not technically not in the park and requires a long drive to reach. Add this to your list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park if you’re in the Mt. Baker area.
10. Diablo Lake Trail
- Distance: 7.5 miles
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Elevation Gain: 1,500 feet
- Time Required: 3.5 – 4.5 hours
Diablo Lake is one of the top attractions of North Cascades National Park with turquoise colored waters that lure in visitors (like myself) from all over the world. The hike around the lake is an excellent way to get nice views of Diablo from different perspectives.
The Diablo Lake Trailhead is located near the ferry terminal for Ross Lake Resort in Rockport, Washington. From here, the trail winds its way toward the Ross Lake Dam where it the turn around point is. Along the way there are a couple of nice viewpoints of the lake.
Some folks are disappointed by the views when they hike this trail expecting they’ll see the Diablo Lake Vista Point which is located off the main highway and not accessed via this trail.
I’d add this one to your list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park if you’ve done the others.
9. Desolation Peak Lookout Trail
- Distance: 10 miles (roughly)
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 4,400 feet (approximate)
- Time Required: 5-7 hours
Looking for a semi-famous addition to your list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park? Desolation Peak is a great place to start!
Made famous by the poet/writer Jack Kerouac who notably stayed here as a fire lookout for 63 days in the summer of ’56, Desolation Peak features a classic fire lookout and sweeping panoramic views of the North Cascades.
The best way to get here is starting with a roughly 45 minute boat ride from Ross Lake Resort which makes this hike doable for day hikers. From here the accounts of just how long the trail is vary from 8 miles to 14 – quite a range! I’d plan for at least 10 miles and about 2.5 – 3 hours getting up and another 2.5 hours coming down.
“I felt like lying down by the side of the trail and remembering it all.
The woods do that to you, they always look familiar, long lost, like the face of a long-dead relative, like an old dream, like a piece of forgotten song drifting across the water, most of all like golden eternities of past childhood or past manhood and all the living and the dying and the heartbreak that went on a million years ago and the clouds as they pass overhead seem to testify (by their own lonesome familiarity) to this feeling.”
Jack Kerouac “The Dharma Bums”
8. Cutthroat Pass Trail
- Distance: 10 miles (via PCT) or 11.4 Miles (via Cutthroat Trailhead)
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet or 2,800 feet
- Time Required: 5 – 6 hours
For the sticklers (I’m one of them), this hike is technically located just outside of North Cascades National Park in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. There are two ways to hike to Cutthroat Pass itself. The first and shorter one involves jumping on the Pacific Crest Trail from the west via the Maple Pass Trailhead.
The second way involves taking the Cutthroat Trail from the Cutthroat Trailhead on the east side of the pass and hiking up that way. This way has the added bonus of an optional detour to Cutthroat Lake which can be bypassed depending on time and priorities.
Either way you go the views are superb. I recommend going in September when the larch trees blazing golden yellow and the mosquitoes are all but gone.
This is a must-add to your list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park for fall foliage fanatics!
7. Easy Pass
- Distance: 7.7 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 3,000 feet
- Time Required: 5 – 6 hours
Easy Pass is a one of the great North Cascades National Park hikes that offers wide views pretty much all along the way making it all the more enjoyable. At any point along the trail you can stop to take a drink of water and enjoy sublime North Cascades views.
At just over 7.5 miles round trip and just under 3,000 feet of elevation gain the trail is challenging but any worthwhile trail under 10 miles in North Cascades seems like a win to me.
The snow typically doesn’t clear out all the way until the end of July or early August so be prepared for some post holing if you go before then. Like several of the trails in this area, the beginning of the hike starts out on Forest Service lands and ends in the National Park which means no dogs.
6. Thornton Lakes
- Distance: 11 miles
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 3,000 feet
- Time Required: 6 – 7 hours
The Thornton Lakes Trail another one of the more popular North Cascades National Park hikes with big views at the top. Unlike some other trails, the views are pretty muted until the last quarter of a mile so this one really shouldn’t be attempted until the snow to fully melts sometime in mid-late July.
July is usually the buggiest time to hike this trail and the bugs can be fierce here whereas they tend to calm down a bit in August & September. There are lots of roots to contend with along the way so be sure to keep an eye on your footing.
As one of the more popular of the best hikes in North Cascades National Park expect crowds during the peak summer season.
5. Hidden Lake Lookout Trail
- Distance: 8 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 3300 feet
- Time Required: 5.5 – 7 hours
The Hidden Lake Lookout Trail is one of the best hikes in North Cascades National Park (and all of the Pacific Northwest for that matter) offering sweeping views of staggering mountain peaks in all directions. From the heights of this North Cascades hike you truly feel like you’re on top of the world.
Views like this rarely come without effort and this case is no exception. With 3300 feet of elevation gain in just 4 miles up to the lookout it feels like constant up, up, up.
The trail starts in a deep coniferous forest complete with streams and chirping birds. As you continue up the trail the contrast is striking as you rise through grassy wildflower meadows and eventually into the rarefied air of mountain peaks.
4. Sourdough Mountain
- Distance: 10.4 miles round trip
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 5,700 feet
- Time Required: 8 – 10 hours
I’d argue that some of the most striking and alluring views in all the North Cascades come from the hike up Sourdough Mountain. Sometimes big views can be earned with relatively minimal effort. This is not one of those times.
Almost everyone who makes it to the top of the trail will tell you it was worth it but expect a bit of stiffness on the car ride home. At 10.4 miles round trip with over 5,700 feet of elevation gain, this hike falls squarely into the difficult category.
Be sure to pack a lot of water for this hike – at least 3 liters per person I’d say as it’s an all day affair that requires a tremendous amount of energy.
The ascent is steep and the trail pretty grueling but the payoff speaks for itself. For a full trail review check out what our friends at WTA have to say about the hike.
If you’re looking for the absolute coolest view of the park then add this one to your list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park.
3. Blue Lake Trail
- Distance: 4.6 miles
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Elevation Gain: 900 feet
- Time Required: 2.5 – 3 hours
As this list of the best hikes in North Cascades National Park winds down we find ourselves left with the real cream of the crop here. Blue Lake is one of the most beautiful hikes in all of the national parks featuring sweeping views of the cascades.
The best part (other than the views) is that unlike most of the other trails in the park, Blue Lake is relatively short and easy at 4.4 miles round trip and a paltry 1000 feet of elevation gain.
Once you get to the top of the hike you’ll feel like you’re on top of the world.
2. Cascade Pass / Sahale Arm Trail
- Distance: 6.5 miles
- Difficulty: Moderate – Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 1,780 feet
- Time Required: 3.5 – 4.5 hours
If you’re looking for another of the the most popular hikes in North Cascades National Park then Cascade Pass is for you. While the trail does get a bit crowded in the summer (never too bad in my opinion compared to the likes of Yosemite or Zion, anyway) it’s for a good reason. The views here are sensational.
Hikers have the option to do this as a 7.4 mile out and back to Cascade Pass or an 11.8 mile out and back to Sahale Glacier (totally worth it if you’re up for it).
I’d say the views from the top of this trail alone are worth adding it to your list of best hikes in North Cascades National Park.
1. Maple Pass Loop to Lake Ann
- Distance: 7.4 miles
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 2,200 feet
- Time Required: 4 – 5 hours
We’re down to my absolute favorite hike in North Cascades National Park. This is one of those choosing which is your favorite kid types of situations but if I’ve got to give an answer then the Maple Pass hike to Lake Ann is the best in North Cascades.
The total length of the hike is 7.4 miles with just under 2,200 feet of elevation gain but that all washes away with the sublime scenery. Well you still might feel the incline but oh the views.
Go in the fall for even more spectacular grandeur as the larches turn into a blazing golden yellow lighting up the landscape in a memorable way. The views of Lake Ann are just the icing on the cake for this exceptional hike.
1. Fourth of July Pass
- Distance: 9.3 miles
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Elevation Gain: 2,500 feet
- Time Required: 5 – 6 hours
Why to Skip this North Cascades Hike?
The bottom line is that the views are just not worth the elevation gain for Fourth of July Pass. The trail continues up, up, up but the views don’t materialize. There are some decent vantages but at the top it’s a big time let down. For this amount of effort you can do much better in the hikes department at North Cascades.
- Maple Pass Loop Trail
- Cascade Pass/Sahale Arm Trail
- Blue Lake Trail
- Sourdough Mountain / Pierce Mountain Camp
- Hidden Lake
- Easy Pass Trail
- Thornton Lakes Trail
- Cutthroat Pass Trail
- Gorge Creek Falls Loop
- Picture Lake Loop Trail
- Sterling Munro Boardwalk Trail
- Diablo Lake Trail
- Ladder Creek Falls Trail
- Trail of the Cedars
- Desolation Peak Lookout Trail
Helpful Related Links for Things to Do in North Cascades National Park
North Cascades Park Hub: Our complete guide to North Cascades National Park
Things to Do at North Cascades: Our list of things to do at North Cascades National Park
Best Hikes at Mount Rainier: Our ranked list of the best hikes at Mount Rainier National Park
Things to Do at Mount Rainier: Our guide to Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier Facts: Facts about Mount Rainier
Things to Do at Olympic: Our guide to Olympic National Park
National Parks Ranked: All 63 US national parks ranked
Most Visited National Parks: The most visited national parks
Least Visited National Parks: The least visited national parks
What to Bring to North Cascades
Gear we recommend for North Cascades. Affiliate links support our work at no cost to you.
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