Cascade Pass
One of the most scenic, accessible hikes in North Cascades National Park (including for kids, at least to the pass) and is consequently heavily used. Views begin at the parking lot and don't quit. Jagged, snowcapped peaks and meadows abound. Possibilities for rambling are endless.
The superb meadows and glaciated peaks of Cascade Pass are better than the best of the European Alps! The trail is graded gently enough for children, though the switchbacks gain elevation steadily. After climbing through forest for the first 2 miles, the trail emerges into meadows and never ending views of Johannesburg, Eldorado, Mt. Forbidden and many more. After another mile plus, the pass is reached. Camping is not allowed here to allow the area to recover from overuse. Well worn trails lead off in two directions: south to Mix-Up Arm and north toward Sahale Arm, from which the trail dips abruptly to the deep cirque of Doubtful Lake.
Driving Directions:
Drive Hwy 20 to the little town of Marblemount. Keep going straight when 20 turns left and you will be on Cascade River road. Drive the 23 miles to the end. You will follow the Cascade River the whole way; it takes nearly an hour on Cascade river road. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Flickr: http://bit.ly/cascade-pass
Cascade Pass was Tim's idea for the gorgeous Sunday weather. We were lucky enough to get all the way...
Flickr: http://bit.ly/cascade-pass
Cascade Pass was Tim's idea for the gorgeous Sunday weather. We were lucky enough to get all the way to milepost 21 closure sign on Cascade River Road in Tim's power jeep. One and a half feet of snow at the road closure and I doubt my SUV would have been able to make it that far. A big blowdown at mile 10 that has since been sawed off, enough for two cars to get through side by side. Packed snow and icy conditions at mile 12 onward, and even more snow once past the National Park sign. The first two miles to the trailhead we had beautiful views of the surrounding peaks and icy creeks one after another. Instead of taking the summer route that is now deeply buried in the snow, we went straight for the head of the basin. The crux of the shorter route was getting over a steep, icy slope. With only two ice axes available for the three of us and one group member unnerved by the slope, we made our stopping point at 4,800', just 600' shy of the pass. Views from the turnaround point wasn't all that bad, just enough peaks to satisfy the appetite. But it would have been to unveil the mystery of other side of the pass and beyond. Clear blue sky the entire time in the basin, but we didn't get the chance to be graced by the sunlight. I used spikes for traction on this trip, but there was deep enough snow past the trailhead and into the basin to use snowshoes for faster traverse. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage
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This was our first hike in the North Cascade area. With the day expecting to be wet and cloudy...
This was our first hike in the North Cascade area. With the day expecting to be wet and cloudy we chose to hike to Cascade Pass. From Marblemount along highway 20 we traveled 23 miles to roads end on the Cascade road, which is in the North Cascades National Park. The first 10 miles was paved, with the last 13 being a very good dirt road, with very few ruts or chuck holes. The drive up this road took around 1 hour.
At 9:30 we started our hike in a heavy mist, sometimes light rain. The trail was in good shape and not really too steep as we made around 35 switchbacks, climbing 1500 feet. Midway up the trail, we step off the trail to see a very nice water fall cascading down the mountain. These falls are easy to miss. After the last switchback the trail headed another mile or so to Cascade Pass. The colors are starting to change to fall colors. The trail to Cascade pass lives up to its name as there are many streams cascading down the mountain side. As the fog lifted we could see the glaciers on the opposite side of the valley. This is a gorgeous hike, and will be fantastic on a clear day. We spoke with one hiker pair who went to Sahale glacier. They turned back just before the glacier as it began snowing hard. The hike was 7 1/2 miles round trip, with a 1760 foot elevation gain. The sounds of the water cascading down the mountain made this an extra exciting hike. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail | Bugs
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We started out early-ish (10:30) with warm temps and high clouds. The views from the parking lot alone were worth...
We started out early-ish (10:30) with warm temps and high clouds. The views from the parking lot alone were worth the drive up, but with that teaser we were excited for more. The trail was a nice steady climb and would have been perfectly pleasant were it not for the hoards of black flies driving us crazy. However even that couldn't chase us away as at almost every switchback turn we were treated to more stunning views of the mountains through the trees.
We crossed a few very small snow fields with no trouble (unless you count the seven year old trying to make snowballs) and several meadows still in bloom with all kinds of colorful flowers. Ran into a Marmot, a couple of pika, several chipmunks that were NOT shy and at the top we were greeted with a special surprise: our very first Mountain Goat!!! Needless to say this was the highlight of our day. At the top the flies were few, the sun came out, the breeze off the snow fields was perfect and the scenery was stunning. The trip down was just as lovely if a bit more humid and a LOT muddier due to "traffic" as the day warmed and the snowmelt increased. All in all a perfect day and a lovely hike. We're looking forward to doing it again! Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Ripe berries
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Cascade Pass Trail road was still closed at mile 20 (though open now to the Cascade Pass trailhead).
Nice walk up...
Cascade Pass Trail road was still closed at mile 20 (though open now to the Cascade Pass trailhead).
Nice walk up road from road closure (at cabin) to Cascade Pass trail head parking lot. Walked up the road with 7 children ranging in age from 3 to 9 years old. Road was in good shape until last two turns before parking lot which had large mound of snow blocking the road but was easy to walk up and over to finish the walk to the parking lot. Trail heads at parking lot were covered in snow. Weather was beautiful, waterfalls flowing hard, young buck was walking up the road on our way down and continued to approach our silent group of 11 to about 50 yards before turning into forest. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This was my first time doing this hike in the summer. The parking lot was totally full at 11:30am but...
This was my first time doing this hike in the summer. The parking lot was totally full at 11:30am but most people were gone from the lot. Hiking through the forest for the first 3.8mi had to be done swiftly because of the biting flies and mosquitoes. Once in the open the bugs were blown away by the wind and it was much cooler. Even though it felt really hot at the parking lot, the Cascade Pass felt chilly and the top of the ridge (another maybe mile from the pass) felt even colder. Do make it to the top of the ridge; you'll see the Doubtful Lake, pink heather and lupine meadows, and amazing views of the mountains all around you. Right now is the time to go if you like wildflowers. Also, today was full of animal encounters. We saw: 1 buck right next to the trail; tons of pika, chipmuncks, and ground squirrels; 1 large black bear from across the valley; 6 marmots; 4 mountain goats right next to the toilets at Cascade Pass (2 adults and 2 babies); hummingbirds; heard blue grouse; and two scared black bear cubs that were running away from the road when we finally started driving back in the evening.
Overall, it was an awesome hike today! |
Photo by Jani.
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