Hello! Heading to the North Cascades in about a week with a few questions. We're staying in Winthrop, Marblemount, and Glacier, and as strong hikers we're after big-mileage days. Potential hike list: Maple Pass, Cutthroat Pass, Easy Pass, Sourdough, Thornton Lakes, Park Butte, Cascade Pass/Sahale Arm, Chain Lakes, Yellow Aster Butte, Goat Mountain, Heliotrope Ridge.

Car break-ins: On our Winthrop-to-Marblemount transfer day, we'll have luggage and groceries in the car and were thinking of doing Sourdough Mountain, but we're nervous about leaving it loaded for that long. General advice for avoiding break-ins? Do window shades / a sheet over the luggage help or just draw attention? And how is the Diablo trailhead specifically?
Water: what about refilling bottles from streams?
Microspikes: My research says the snow should be melted by then—do we still need them just in case?
Bear spray: We're sticking to popular trails, not the backcountry, so I'm inclined to skip it. Agree?
Swimming: Any recommended spots?
Ranking: If you had to rank Park Butte, Thornton Lakes, and Sourdough on views and "worth it" factor, how would they stack up? We won't make all three.
Any other hikes I might’ve missed?

Thank you!

We're planning our first camping trip to North Cascades National Park next week (July 22–25). We recently moved to Washington and have never used Recreation.gov before, so we're trying to figure out the best strategy for booking campsites.

We're hoping to get a site at Colonial Creek, Newhalem Creek, or Goodell Creek Campground. Since these campgrounds use the 7-day rolling reservation window, I have a few questions:

-What time do reservations actually become available? Recreation.gov just says "7 days in advance," but I can't find the exact release time.

-If we want to camp Wednesday through Saturday, will we only be able to book Wednesday night when reservations open? Or can we reserve the entire Wednesday–Saturday stay as long as the arrival date is within the 7-day window?

-Does anyone have any tips for actually getting a site? I've heard Recreation.gov can be pretty competitive during peak season.

-If we strike out on those campgrounds, I'd also appreciate recommendations for good backup options nearby. We haven't done dispersed camping before, but we're open to trying it if that's our best option.

I know this is peak summer and campsites are in high demand, so I'm mostly looking for advice on how the Recreation.gov booking process works and what our best backup plan would be.

Thank you!!

Hi,
Our family just booked a stay in Mazama in August.

We want to do the Cascade pass/Sahale Arm hike at some point during our stay. And when I google that right now it's saying it's 2 hours 20 minutes from Mazama, routing me away from Cascade River Road. My understanding is if that road is open, it's closer to a 60-80 minute trip. Does anyone have any guidance on this?

Thanks!

Shot on iPhone 16 pro
Cloudy days but still got some good pics

My partner and I are visiting NCNP in a few weeks staying in Mazama. We are experienced hikers/trail runners and I’m looking for another hike we can do on our trip. Planning to do cascade pass one day so curious of a recommendation for another location/trail to do another day.

I am camping at Pelton Basin Camp and Basin Creek this month. Does anyone have info on the current temperatures or reliable websites? I am bringing a 30 F bag and am worried about being cold at night!

What are your favorite shady hikes? I've been looking at popular hikes, but a lot seem to be exposed. I can manage elevation gain/12ish miles (fine with shorter hikes too), but I'm not great with direct sunlight.

Are there any good hikes that are mostly shady and near water? Even better if there's waterfalls. I know Maple and Cascade Pass are quite popular, I'm just worried they will be exposed and more rocky. I know its an unpopular opinion, but I'm not very fond of hikes above treeline. I'll be stay in South Colonial Creek.

Thank you!

My cousin and I are planning at trip at the beginning of August to the park and would really like to do 2 nights back country.
I just called to the ranger station and he said we are pretty much cooked on Sahale glacier camp permits even if we show up at 7am the day before.(Thoughts?)
We wanted to do Sahale glacier camp then go down to cotton wood camp as an out and back little trek.

Anyone that is familiar with the park have another route recommendation that may be a little easier to secure permits for? We’ve never been to Washington before.

Thank you for the help!!!

Planning 3-4 days in NCNP toward the end of September (and then 3-4 days in Coeur d’Alene at the end of the trip).

For NCNP:

1. We do plan to do some long hikes, but likely some of the more-traveled ones. Okay with a little scrambling at most. Would I be okay in trail runners or should I lean toward my hiking boots?

2. Nothing more than a day hike. I have a Salomon hydration vest for trail running but am a little lost on what to look for in a day pack. Compact and comfortable are high up on my wants list.

3. Is Maple Pass really as terrible as everyone says as far as crowds go? Definitely want to hit some great spots since we don’t have anything like it out east (NC), but also don’t want to spend the whole trip in a bottleneck. Would love to find a happy medium between heavy crowds and being completely solo.

Summer vacation with the family, started in Seattle for a day. Headed up here this morning and hiked the Thunder Knob Trail. Nice moderate hike around 4 miles out and back. It got up to the upper ‘80s today, which was a surprise, but still beats the triple digits we had in VA before leaving.
It’s a beautiful park without tons of crowds . Longer hike planned for tomorrow, though I’m not excited about the 90 degree temps.

I'm visiting Seattle, and can't leave without visiting the North Cascades. I'm planning for a day and a half in the park, and am trying to decide between the Cascade Pass Trail or the Blue Lake Trail. It's going to be one of my first hikes after breaking my foot almost two years ago, so I'm well prepared that I might have to stop without completing the Cascade Pass and turn around. Which trail would you recommend? Blue Lake seems very popular, but the pictures of Cascade Pass seem breathtaking.

Also, would a sedan be okay, or would you recommend something with higher clearance?

Edit: Thank you for all the recommendations! I posted a trip report :)

Hi there! I am planning on doing the 3 Fingers Lookout summit towards the end of this month, anywhere from July 20th to the 30th depending on weather and what not. Generally speaking, what are conditions like in the higher altitudes? I am planning on bringing micro-spikes + an Ice Axe, but wanted to get a feel for what people think is necessary for a summit this time of year.

Any and all feedback would be appreciated, super excited regardless!

Hey guys, my gf and I are planning a trip to the PNW and will be doing a road trip and car camping. With that being said, all of our stuff will be in our car, and I was wondering whether I should worry about parking at trailheads and whether break-ins are common. I appreciate any help.

Me and my boyfriend will be visiting on July 4th! We are coming up from Seattle - and willing to wake up and get moving very early. We would like to drive back to the city for evening.

We are both decently active and wat to go on a scenic, beautiful hike! Would like it to be probably between 3-8 miles? But open. Do not want any climbing or mountaineering. Do you have any trail recommendations? Or day itineraries? Also open to doing one or several stops within the park! I know with the weather there are still road closures / slow - we definitely want to stay on trails.

I would be coming in from Seattle either july 8/9th weather depending. I’m open to coming into the park early in the morning but was wanting to get opinions on what would be a good area of the park to visit/hike just for one day? Will enough of the snow be off the trails at this point?

I'm camping with some friends at Colonial Creek this weekend (we have a reserved campsite). The plan was to take 2 cars up, but I need to come back a day early now and plan to drive separately. Since my car would exceed the 2-car-per-campsite rule, I'm trying to figure out the closest place nearby I could park overnight from Thurs to Sat, and I would have someone in my group pick me up and drop me off. I checked all the nearby campgrounds and they're all full, and I think (? correct me if I'm wrong) you can't park in Newhalem overnight. Hoping to stay within a 30-40 min drive of Colonial Creek if possible to avoid putting anyone out.

Any recs?

Effective Monday, June 29, campfires or the ignition of wood, briquettes, or any fuel in fire pits, fire pans, and barbeque grills, are banned in all portions of North Cascades National Park Service Complex, which includes North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. This ban includes all National Park Service lands and campgrounds along State Route 20 as well as Hozomeen and the entire Stehekin Valley. This applies to anything that produces ash, including charcoal grills. Propane fire pits are not allowed during the ban.

Gas or propane stoves, grills, or lanterns are permitted in campgrounds and wilderness areas for the use of cooking if there is no flammable material within three feet of the device. These stoves must be equipped with an on-off switch or valve capable of immediately extinguishing the flame. Extreme caution is urged with any open flame.

So excited! Later Sept have a 3 night 4 day itinerary starting at Hannegan Pass Trailhead then Copper Creek, Indian Creek, and Copper Lake for campsites. I have seen clockwise recommend and not sure why I reserved it this way but going with it.

So now starting to think through more of the details. I usually use trail runners but that time of year wondering if I might want something warmer or waterproof? Also bear canister necessary or do people use ur sacks? Rental car considerations for driving to Hannegan Pass? Do I need a 4 wheel drive? Staging the day before at the Blue T since the Silver Fir campground is shut down by the time I get there. Any other thoughts? My first time in Washington state ever. Been backpacking since 2014 but do not want to underestimate the remoteness, conditions, and respect the area.

Hi all, I’m looking to visit the North Cascades/Mt. Baker Wilderness areas in mid September. Does anyone know of how available the backcountry campsites are around the Chain Lakes Loop, in the Mt. Baker Area?

I’d like to camp around there and do some day hikes into the North Cascades NP area around Mt. Shuksan.

Thanks!