North Cascades

Cascade Pass
Not to be confused with North Cascades National Park, a national park within this region.

The North Cascades is a region of Washington.

Regions

The North Cascades can be divided into two distinct subregions due to the Cascade Mountains which run north to south across the middle of the region - Northwest Washington and North Central Cascades

Cities

Other destinations

Mount Shuksan

Understand

The Cascades are a mountain range that stretches some 700 miles (1100 km) from British Columbia through central Washington into Oregon. By causing moist Pacific air to drop rain and dry out as it blows into the continent, the Cascades divide Washington state into a wet west and an arid east. The Cascades are tall -- several are above 10,000' (3000m) high, including Mount Baker in this region. Because their valleys are low and the mountains quite steep, many mountains in the Cascades are visually quite striking.

To the west from the Cascades to the coast are lowlands. Interstate 5 (I-5) runs north from Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia. The Skagit Valley is fertile farmland, overflowing with tulips in the spring. Further north, Bellingham is the last US city before the Canadian border.

The North Cascades region is made up of Chelan, Kittitas, Okanogan, Skagit, and Whatcom counties. The term "North Cascades" sometimes means the mountain chain as far south as Mount Rainier. The Cascades continue south in the Southwest Washington region, then into Oregon and northern California.

Get in

By car

Interstate 5 and the Peace Arch crossing is the main land port-of-entry to this region of Washington from Canada. However this is only one of five land crossing points between the Lower Mainland region of BC and the Northwest Washington region of Washington. See the Get in — by car section of Northwest Washington region article for details.

By boat

See also: Alaska Marine Highway
Caution Note: The Sidney-Anacortes ferry service has been suspended and will not resume until at least 2030.
(Information last updated 01 Mar 2023)
  • 🌍 Alaska Marine Highway System (Alaska State Ferry), Bellingham Cruise & Ferry Terminal at 355 Harris Ave (Next building north of the tracks from Fairhaven.), ☏ +1 800 642-0066. Weekly sailings between Fairhaven and Alaska for passengers and vehicles. (updated Mar 2016)
  • Washington State Ferries, ☏ +1 206 464-6400, toll-free: +1-800-843-3779. The Washington State Ferry system offers once or twice daily sailings from Sidney, BC to the San Juan Islands with continuing service to Anacortes. For security and immigration processing when traveling between the US and Canada, a 60-minute advance arrival is strongly suggested for vehicle traffic. Walk-on passengers must arrive 30 minutes in advance. Service to Sidney has been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic and the operator has announced that service to Sidney is suspended until at least 2030 due to the lack of available ferries and crew. (updated Mar 2023)

By train

See also: Rail travel in the United States
  • Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates the intercity trains around the United States. (updated Mar 2016) Routes stopping in the region:
    • The Empire Builder starts in Seattle, goes to Edmonds and Everett then heads east towards Spokane through Leavenworth, Wenatchee and Ephrata. In Spokane the train is joined with the other branch coming up from Portland for the eastbound trip (split if going westbound) to Chicago.
    • Amtrak Cascades is a regional train service that goes north from Seattle to Vancouver 2x daily through Edmonds, Everett, Stanwood, Mt Vernon and Bellingham.

By bus

By plane

The following are airports in or nearest to the North Cascades region of Washington state for commercial passenger flights:

Get around

By car

By bus

The following are intercity buses that connect Sea-Tac to several cities and towns in the North Cascade regions and for travel between the cities and town in the region as the public transport options offer limited to no intercounty connections.

  • BellAir Airporter, (bus stops) Seattle Tacoma International Airport, Washington State Convention Center, Convention Place (prior reservations only), ☏ +1-866-235-5247. Goes up to Stanwood, Burlington/Mt Vernon, Bellingham & Blaine on one route with a separate route to the San Juan Islands ferry in Anacortes on one route, and from Sea-Tac to Cle Elum, Ellensburg & Yakima on another route. Both route originates from Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Pick-up from the Seattle Convention Center by appointment only. 
  • Northwestern Stage Lines (Northwest Trailways/Salt Lake City Experss), (bus stops) Greyhound bus depot & King Street Amtrak station, toll-free: +1-800-366-3830. Bus service from Seattle to Spokane via Everett, Stevens Pass, Leavenworth, Wenatchee, George, Moses Lake, Ritzville. Tickets can also be booked with Salt Lake City Express and Megabus. $51 one way to Spokane, $97 round trip. 

By public transit

Many of the local public transit are limited to the main cities/towns in the counties they serve:

By boat

There are a couple of lesser known ferries to nearby islands in Skagit and Whatcom Counties that are county operated and a couple more from Stehikin to Chelan on Lake Chelan:

  • Guemes Island Ferry is the other ferry connecting Anacortes to Guemes Island from a different location than the San Juan Ferry. This ferry is operated by Skagit County and is capable of carrying vehicles and passengers.
  • Lummi Island Ferry connects the Lummi Nations Peninsula (north of Bellingham Bay from Bellingham) to Lummi Island. This ferry is operated by Whatcom County Public Works Department and is also capable of carrying both vehicle and passengers.
  • Lady of the Lake sails across Lake Chelan from Stehekin to Chelan.

By train

By plane

Anacortes airport (OTS IATA)

See

Mount Triumph north of Newhalem

Itineraries

The North Cascade Loop is a very scenic drive that loops around this area through pristine mountains, grand rivers, crystalline lakes and scenic islands. If you can't do the loop, at least go as far as Mazama (eastbound) or the visitor center near Newhalem (westbound) on State Hwy 20. Note the most spectacular parts of the drive are not where the highway is sandwiched between the two halves of the national park, but further east in the Okanogan National Forest. The highest point is Washington Pass at 5,477 feet. As the park has virtually no roads, non-hikers should stay on the main highway unless clearly marked signs are visible (such as the visitor center which is about a mile to the south).

Do

Hiking, fishing, white water rafting, skiing, snowshoeing, boating

Eat

Applets and Cotlets

Drink

Stay safe

Fuel

After you pass Marblemount on the North Cascades Highway (going eastbound), there is no gas for 70 miles until Mazama. There is also no cell phone coverage (no matter which carrier) from Ross Lake to Mazama. If you need assistance, you'll have to flag down someone with a two-way radio, or obtain a lift.

Avalanches

In the Cascade Mountains (which divide the state into halves) there can be significant snow accumulations during the late fall and winter months. This poses a danger for avalanches whenever these areas experience warm up periods, regardless of how brief they may be. Washington Pass is at an elevation of 5477 ft. (1669 m), and can have snowfall on any day of the year. and mountain passes are sometimes closed for avalanche control and may effect travel plans. Check the Washington State Department of Transportation website for information regarding Avalanche control.

If going into the mountains during winter and early spring months, refer to the Northwest Avalanche Center for current avalanche information.

Go next

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