North Cascades country

The opening of the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) through Washington Pass ceremoniously begins the “busy season” in North Cascades National Park Service Complex. “This is an exciting day as we celebrate with the park’s gateway communities the increased opportunities for recreation and fun made possible by the highway’s opening,” said chief ranger Kinsey Shilling.

The North Cascades National Park Visitor Center, near the town of Newhalem, is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center features exhibits, theater presentations, and is staffed by park rangers and volunteers to help answer questions and to suggest recreational activities. The center also provides access to the scenic Sterling Munro Overlook and a network of easy hiking trails such as the 1/3 mile Rock Shelter Trail and the 1.8 mile River Loop Trail.

The Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Hours expand further beginning June 29 to Sunday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The center features trip planning information and is the main location for backcountry users to obtain permits which are required for all overnight stays in the backcountry. Updated trail information is available online at www.nps.gov/noca/ planyourvisit/ hiking.htm.

Scenic drivers can tour State Route 20 through the park and enjoy Ross Lake Overlooks with views of Jack Mountain and Hozomeen Peak, which towers a mere two miles south of the Canadian border.
People looking for short walks can now access the Happy Creek Forest Walk, a 1/3 mile wheelchair accessible boardwalk loop trail through a western hemlock forest and the Ruby Creek Trail, a 3/4 mile round trip walk from the East Bank Trailhead to Ruby Creek. Both trails feature interpretive exhibits that explore the ecological relationships of the forest and the mining history of the area.

Hikers can now access several longer trails from the East Bank Trailhead: travel east 3.3 miles on the Ruby Creek Trail to the confluence of Granite and Canyon Creeks and the Canyon Creek Trailhead (USFS), or turn west after the bridge to join the main East Bank Trail, which meanders 31 miles north to Hozomeen and provides short and long early-season hiking options.

There is plenty of camping for groups and families. Goodell Creek Campground near Newhalem, Gorge Lake Campground near Diablo and Colonial Creek Campground on Diablo Lake are all open. Reservations for these group camps can be made online at www.recreation.gov.

The North Cascades Institute’s summer catalog of seminars, programs, and events is now available and contains a variety of offerings in the park such as free day trips, Diablo Down Time, and Spring Birding Weekend. Catalogs can be browsed and downloaded from www.ncascades.org.

An Institute Sampler

Canoe on Diablo Lake or hike in the vicinity of the ELC. First come, first serve sign up at 8:30 a.m. Canoe trips leave at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and the forest and waterfall Hikes at 9:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. on June 7, 14 and 21, July 12 and 19, August 2, 9 and 23 and September 6 and 13.

Sourdough Speaker Series
Washington’s Poet Laureate Sam Green will reads poems from nature on this first of several weekend overnights that include food and lodging on June 21-22. Cost is $95

Natural and Cultural History Classes
There are 39 classes to choose from beginning in early June through the first weekend in November, including Beats on the Peaks: Lookout Poets and Backcountry Tales on Ross Lake. The course includes a boat trip and hike to the Desolation Peak lookout where Beat poet Jack Kerouac wrote The Dharma Bums in 1956. Cost varies, and for this course is $295.