Our original plan to visit Washington state did not include North Cascades National Park. The plan was we would spend all six camping nights driving around the Olympic Peninsula. However, listening to a travel podcast several months before we left, we heard about the beauty to be found in North Cascades, and our curiosity was piqued.
Instead of all 6 nights in Olympic, we ended up allocating 2 nights to explore North Cascades National Park. As I mentioned in my overview trip post, North Cascades is east of Seattle, where Olympic is west. It took some planning to make the most of the drive time, but I think it was totally worth it.
North Cascades has a different landscape than what we saw in Olympic later that week. Every direction you looked seemed like a postcard. The best way I can describe it is beautifully scenic in every way.
So just the drive to the park on State Road 20 felt like an experience. Or perhaps that is due to the fact that our little VW Westfalia didn’t have A/C and we had the windows down taking it all in. If you are mapping out a trip to North Cascades, make sure you take SR 20!
Since it is the lesser known of the three national parks surrounding Seattle, North Cascade has a cool, undiscovered vibe. I am really glad we went. I’ll do a quick rundown of some of the highlights from our visit.
Cascadian Farm Berry Stand
During his reading up, Brian had heard about this little farm stand on our route into North Cascades that was a “must”. Cascadian Farm is a brand of organic products you may be familiar with from your local grocery store. Turns out their farm is in Washington at the base of the Cascadian mountain (hence the name). They also have this Roadside Stand which they open from May to October. The little house sold their organic berries, tomatoes, plus homemade ice-cream as well as healthy snacks.
Once you get your treats in the house, you can go outside to pick a place to sit and enjoy the goodies along with a gorgeous view of the farm and mountains. If you are coming from Seattle, you will be taking SR 20 to come into the national park and you will pass this stand on the way. Definitely stop if you can!
Diablo Lake
One of our first stops in North Cascades National Park (after the Newhalem Visitor’s Center) was Diablo Lake. The color of the water is this bright shade of turquoise that is unreal. It has something to do with the sun reflecting off floating rock particles from glacier flour. I don’t understand it, but so cool! First we looked at it from the lookout point, and then we went down to check it out up close. The boys even got their courage to get in the very cold water.
When things went a little awry
So our first night in North Cascades is the reason why on the overview post I mentioned the importance of reserving campsites before you go. The first-come, first-served campsites Brian had scouted were all full when we arrived.
In this case, the main issue was that it was a Saturday. Although the park is not as jam packed as some of the others, it is still a popular summer destination for Washington residents.
However, he had a backup plan in case this happened. Kind of like a fail-proof insurance policy. You see, the guy who rented us the camper van had given him the coordinates to a really cool non-marked campsite next to a creek. When we showed up at the secret spot, well … it wasn’t so secret. Someone else was there 🙁
We ended up driving deeper into the park, east on State Road 20, stopping at every campground we passed looking for a spot. Full. Full. Full. Ugh. We discussed sleeping on the side of the road. Which was completely possible because we were in a camper van. But I was nervous doing that with no reception in the wilderness. Not the safest, you know?
Then we remembered the town of Winthrop. During our Seattle visit, we had gone to dinner at our friends’ home and they had mentioned this cute little town of Winthrop. They told us it was worth visiting. We hadn’t even considered it before then, as it was so far east. So as we continued to drive east, we figured we should drive to Winthrop and worst case, sleep in a parking lot. At least it would be in civilization. So that is what we did.
By the time this was the game plan, it was almost 10pm. I started calling campgrounds in Winthrop. On the second call, we got lucky talking to someone at a KoA campground who had one spot left. Can’t say we have ever wished to stay in a KoA, but we were so grateful for this one. We got there around 10:30pm, and went straight to sleep. We had driven a loong way and were so glad that we could stop.
Winthrop
The silver lining to this story is that Winthrop really is such a cute little town. It’s like a town from a western movie, except the buildings are not abandoned. There are shops, restaurants and cafes. We hadn’t seen any of it the night before (in the pitch black) but in the morning it was a fun surprise.
The boys’ favorite memory from our short visit to Winthrop was the deer that came running down the street as they came out of the general store. Apparently it stopped at the stop sign before going on his way. I’m sad I missed it.
If you are planning a visit to North Cascades, I would definitely consider staying here. It looks like there are lots of choices for cool lodging. Maybe not at the KoA campground, but at one of the other lodges or inns that they have.
Washington Pass Overlook
Even though we had a bit of a drive from Winthrop back into the heart of North Cascades National Park, it was a beautiful ride. One of our stops on that drive was to the Washington Pass Overlook. As you drive up this gorgeous winding road, the mountains jut up to the sky with snow powdering the tips. At the overlook you can get out and get a better look at the majestic scenery. This is a quick stop but one I am glad we didn’t miss. If you are driving through here around lunch time, this would be a beautiful spot to picnic.
Blue Lake Hike
Our main hike in North Cascades (and possibly the favorite hike of the trip) was Blue Lake Trail. The 2.5 mile out and back trail took us about 2 hours each each way, with about 1 hour to rest and enjoy the lake. I would say it was a moderate difficulty. Not a steep incline, but pretty rocky terrain. Every step was worth it!
We started fairly early (around 9:30ish). I am glad we did because by the time we came back to the car, the parking lot was completely full and cars were spilling out into the road. Again and again we are convinced that the early bird gets the best hikes.
Our second night camping in North Cascades went sooo much better than the first. Besides actually getting a spot at Colonial Creek campground, the boys got to go swimming in Diablo Lake again. We lounged around in hammocks and made a really good campfire dinner.
Whale Watching in Port Townsend
The next morning we headed out for Port Townsend. While Port Townsend is not in North Cascades, I will include it in this post since it was our “in between” stop before Olympic.
After driving through the gorgeous scenery on State Road 20 out of the park, we arrived in the town of Coupeville to catch the 10am ferry to Port Townsend. That was a fun little adventure driving into the ferry and then getting out to enjoy the boat ride.
Once in Port Townsend, we walked around this charming coastal town and had lunch, awaiting our afternoon whale watching tour.
We really wanted to see some Orcas so we booked a whale watching tour with THIS company. I really liked that the boat only had about 40 people, and felt very intimate. Refreshments and snacks were available on board. You had a cozy place to sit inside the boat and plenty of space outside. I think we were out at sea for about 4 hours total. The crew was basically the captain, and a naturalist. They were so approachable and kind to everyone. Plus, they tracked down a big pod of Orcas right off the San Juan Islands which made our day.
If you are planning your trip around these parts of Washington, Port Townsend is definitely a great place to consider. There is plenty to do and see that will fill a day. And if you can go on a whale watching tour, do it!
I will post photos and highlights from Olympic National Park next. If you missed the Seattle highlights, find them HERE.
Have you ever been to North Cascades National Park? What did you think?
Claudia Saldarriaga
Ale!
Fantastic!
Beautiful pictures!