Top 15 Things to Do in North Cascades National Park
15. Camping at North Cascades
I’ve been to a lot of national park sites in my day and I can confidently say that some of the coolest, most unique camping opportunities in the US can be found at North Cascades. As the park is fairly remote, camping is definitely one of the best things to do in North Cascades National Park.
There are several different kinds of camping experiences available at North Cascades National Park including drive-in, walk-in, boat-in, and backcountry. Currently there are 8 designated front country campgrounds available in North Cascades National Park including:
- Newhalem Creek Campground, Gorge Lake Campground, Goodell Creek Campground, Lower Goodell Creek Campground, Colonial Creek North Campground, Colonial Creek South Campground, Hozomeen, *Stehekin
All of these are accessible by car except for Stehekin (more on that below) and Hozomeen which is only accessible by boat for this season due to road maintenance.
Boat-in camping at North Cascades is a real treat as the park is really geared toward it. There are 25 camp sites available on Ross Lake, Diablo Lake, and Lake Chelan open for this kind of experience. For more helpful information on these opportunities, visit the NPS boat-in camping site.
14. See Mountain Goats
For wildlife lovers out there (who isn’t?) spotting a mountain goat in its natural habitat is easily one of the top things to do at North Cascades National Park. In fact, North Cascades National Park is one of only a handful of places in the US where you can see actually see a mountain goat in the wild.
During the summer months mountain goats tend to stay above 5,000ft hanging out in alpine meadows and rocky snow patches.
There’s actually a program going on now to relocate the non-native mountain goats that have made their way to the Olympic National Park back to North Cascades National Park which is part of their native habitat.
Two great places where you can spot mountain goats in the park are the Cascade Pass Trail and Maple Pass Loop.
