North Cascades National Park contains some of America’s most breathtakingly beautiful scenery high jagged peaks, steep ridges, deep valleys, countless cascading waterfalls and over 300 glaciers within its 505,000 acres. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, rests in a glacially carved trough in the Cascades Range. Lake Chelan reaches a depth of 1,500 feet, making it one of the nation’s deepest lakes and offers opportunities for boating, fishing and lakeshore camping.
Few fully know the intense and rugged beauty of the North Cascades jagged peaks, deep valleys, cascading waterfalls and over 700 glaciers. North Cascades National Park Service Complex contains the heart of this mountainous region in three park units which are all managed as one and include North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. Each area offers different experiences and contains wilderness. A vast majority of the park complex, over 93%, is managed as the Stephen T. Mather Wilderness, which was established by Congress in 1988. The wilderness area was named in honor of the first director of the National Park Service.
Long before North Cascades National Park Service Complex was established in 1968, this area was a home. It was the home to many Native American tribes and a trade gateway between the Plateau tribes to the east and the Coast Salish tribes to the west. Native Americans have been in these mountains for over 8,000 years. More recent settlers came in the nineteenth century to establish homesteads in places like the Stehekin Valley, or to mine elusive minerals like gold, or to trap furbearing animals such as the beaver, otter and marten. Now it is preserved as a national park for future generations to enjoy.
History & Culture
Thousands of voices from the past crackle to life in the history of the mountains and valleys of the North Cascades; they still speak to us today. The Native American voice has been heard in this area for at least eight thousand years. Early European and American fur traders and explorers wandered through these mountains looking for pelts or paths in the early nineteenth century. Finally, homesteaders and miners would stake claims to these mountains hoping to make a living here. By the late nineteenth century, the national park idea gained ground across the nation and found its way to the North Cascades. On October 2, 1968, North Cascades National Park Service Complex was created by an act of Congress. Although it is a relatively recent event in the historical record, North Cascades National Park has its own story about coming into existence and evolving ideas about the ethos of the National Park Service and how to best maintain the spirit of the 1964 Wilderness Act.
Nature & Science
Geology
Thrust up from the ocean floor in a tectonic collision millions of years ago, the North Cascades have been chiseled by glaciers into a jagged mountain realm full of sharp, stony peaks, deep valleys and long lakes. The North Cascades are part of a mountain range that stretches from Canada to California along the pacific crest. The park is unique as the most heavily glaciated area in the United States outside of Alaska. More than 300 glaciers are at work year-round in the park slowly etching away at the landscape like patient master sculptors. The North Cascades are still rising, shifting and forming. Geologists believe that these mountains are a collage of terranes, distinct assemblages of rock separated by faults. Fossil and rock magnetism studies indicate that the North Cascades Terranes were formed in other places, some many thousands of miles south of here. Attached to slowly moving plates of oceanic rock, they drifted northward, merging together about 90 million years ago. Exactly when they arrived here is still in question.
Colliding with the North American Continent, the drifting rock masses were thrust up-wards and faulted laterally into a jumbled array of mountains. The collision broke or sliced the terrane into north to south trending faults that are still evident today. Highway 20 crosses the Straight Creek fault just east of Marblemount.
Geologists believe the rocks to the west of the fault slid more than 100 miles north of the slice to the east. The rocks to the east of Straight Creek Fault are gneisses and granites, while those to the west are completely different recrystallized mudstones and sandstones. Over time, these predecessors to today’s North Cascades were further faulted and eroded to a nearly level plain.
During the past 40 million years, heavier oceanic rocks thrust beneath the edge of this region. Intense heat at great depths caused them to melt. Some of the melt rose to the surface in fiery volcanic eruptions like Mt. Baker. The rest crystallized at various depths to form vast bodies of granitic rock. The North Cascades have again pushed upward to majestic heights, exposing the roots of the ancient collision zone. Ice, water and wind will eventually level the peaks around us, returning them bit by bit to the sea.
Ecology
The mountain world of the North Cascades National Parkis a rich and varied ecosystem a place bound together by geography and climate and by the interactions of living communities of plants and animals. It is the dramatic variations that we notice first: the sharp contrast between old-growth forests of the river valleys and dwarfed and twisted krummholz trees of a subalpine ridge; the difference between the lush greenery of the west side and drier forests of the eastern slope. Not all the differences between habitats are dramatic, however. Subtle changes may be noticed as one habitat and community grade almost imperceptibly into another.
The North Cascades ecosystem contains many different habitats. Ecologists compare an organism’s habitat to its “address”. Habitat is a combination of the physical environment the rocks and land and water as well as all the other organisms that live in the same place. Together these plants and animals make up an interacting, interdependent community. These habitats range from the microhabitat of the forest floor, a world of fir needles and decaying wood, home of the centipede and wolf spider, to the trout-filled waters of Berdeen Lake, hidden away in the backcountry and accessible only by days of rugged, cross-country travel. The mountain forests support communities of plants and animals different from those of the river valleys. Plants that flourish in subalpine meadows are strangers to the more severe conditions of alpine ridges.
Recreation
Camping
There are five types of campsites available at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Single Family campsites are a single unit that will accommodate up to six people with one primary vehicle and up to one extra vehicle, with a charge. Multi Family campsites accommodate up to 12 people with two primary vehicles and up to 2 extra vehicles, with a charge. Group campsites can accommodate varying numbers of people and vehicles. Small group campsites accommodate twenty people or less. Campsite capacities are listed separately for each campground. The number of vehicles is limited by the parking space available for each campsite. The vehicle fee is included with the campsite fee. Dispersed Camping is permitted throughout most of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Practice the ‘No Trace’ ethic and leave a clean forest for others to enjoy. Horse Camps often provide loading ramps, tethering areas and corrals. However, they too vary in their luxury.
Caving
The Gifford Pinchot National Forest contains many interesting attractions. Eruptions of pumice and lava from Mount St. Helens created numerous geologic attractions. Lava tubes and caves, formed in the cooling lava, range from thousands of feet in length to small bubble like chambers. Ape Cave is the longest known lave tube in the continental U. S. (12,810 feet). Most of these geological features are accessible to visitors and the majority are located on the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument or the Mt. Adams Ranger District. Ice Caves located about 5 miles west of the Mt. Adams Ranger Station retain ice formations into the summer time. Wooden steps offer access to these caves, which prove to be an unusual spelunk.
Hiking
There are over 1,200 miles of trail of varying difficulty in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The tamer trails, which open in the spring, have displays of early wildflowers. However, most trails are located in upper-elevation forest and alpine areas, which may be snow covered until July, or even early August. Specifically, 300 miles of trail are located within the Wildernesses and 150 miles of trails are constructed to barrier-free standards with several levels of difficulty.
Approximately 150 miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail traverse the Forest through spectacular, scenic high country, including the Indian Heaven, Mt. Adams and Goat Rock Wilderness Areas. At the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, there are over 200 miles of trails to explore. These trails can take you into the heart of the blast zone, to the summits of mountains, or through the serenity of an old-growth forest. Trails are available for all abilities and interests.
Mountain Biking
There are many trails available for mountain bikers to use. Some are in restricted-use zones such as trails in Wilderness areas and in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument area and others are part of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. Trail guide pamphlets are available at the District Ranger Stations and the Forest Headquarters. Information includes specific trail information and directions for locating trails.
Mountaineering
Both of the mountains in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest are available for climbers. Mount St. Helens is an active volcano in southwest Washington and is a popular climb. although people climb Mount St. Helens year-round, late spring through early fall is the most popular season. Most climbers use the Monitor Ridge route from Climbers Bivouac. This route gains 4,500 feet in 5 miles to the crater rim at 8,365 feet elevation. Most climbers complete the round trip in 7 to 12 hours. Entry into the crater is strictly prohibited. Mount Adams is one of five major volcanic peaks in the Pacific Northwest. There are several climbing routes on the mountain, ranging from the “non-technical” South Climb, to highly technical routes that require advanced skill, experience and special equipment.
Winter Sports
Mount St. Helens has 6 trails open to downhill skiers and boarders, which vary from easy to moderate. Cross-country skiing is permitted in all of the Sno-parks in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Trails range from Easy to Strenuous and offer wide scenic variety. Some areas are restricted and may not be well marked. Sno-Park permits cost $8 per vehicle for a 1-day pass and $20 per vehicle for a winter pass. They are mandatory for all winter recreational activities in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Traveler Facts
Contact Information
North Cascades National Park
810 State Route 20
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
Phone: 360-856-5700
Fax: 360-856-1934
Operating Hours & Seasons
North Cascades National Park is always open, but access is limited by snow in winter.
Note that State Route 20 (North Cascades Scenic Highway), the major access to Ross Lake NRA, is partially closed from approximately mid-November to mid-April. Exact opening and closing dates depend on weather, snow depths and avalanche hazards.
Weather/Climate
Generally, the best weather for visiting the North Cascades occurs between mid-June and late-September. Snow is usually off all but the highest trails by July (though this can vary greatly from year to year).
Summer storms can be common: always be prepared for a few days of rain and wind. Particularly if you are going into high and remote areas, take good, light rain gear and a tent. Warm, waterproof clothing and a tent are virtually mandatory for spring, fall and winter trips into the backcountry.
Heavy snow and rain, depending on elevation, characterize the North Cascades from fall into spring. Avalanches are common in winter and spring in the higher country and in places along the North Cascades Highway.
The east side of the Cascade Mountains (such as Stehekin in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area) is drier and warmer in the summer than the west side (such as the portion of Ross Lake National Recreation Area along the North Cascades Highway). Summer temperatures at Stehekin reach the 90’s F. Winter at Stehekin and at all elevations above the lowest throughout the park complex is snowy from fall into spring.
