North Cascade National Park, est. 1968
Just a 45 min drive from Bay View State Park was our next two night camping destination. We arrived at Concrete/ Grandy Creek KOA, which left us plenty of time for a day in North Cascade National Park.
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| Look at the size of the cedar trees |
We visited a lower portion of the park in Stehekin, however, there is no road that connects these two portions of the park. If you are adventurous you can hike from one portion to the next.
Route 20
On day one we started off at the Visitor Center in Marblemount, WA, then continued on Route 20 through the park. There are 3 dams on the Skagit River, within the park, that provides electricity to Seattle and the upper portion of Washington.
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| We stopped and took in a few small trails along the way. |
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| Diablo Lake view point |
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   It was a little windy 
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Thunder Creek Trail
On day two we wanted a hike that showed off all North Cascade's glory. We decided to hike the Thunder Creek trail, which started off at Diablo Lake, which is a stunning turquoise color. This is a glacier created lake and is filled with "rock flour." Being a science teacher, I had to learn what this term meant.
"Rock Flour, consists of fine-grained, silt sized particles of rock, generated by mechanical grinding of bedrock by glacial erosion, or by artificial grinding to a similar size. Because the material is very small it becomes suspended in melt water making the water appear cloudy. If the (melt water) flows into a glacial lake, the lake may appear turquoise in color. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_flour
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| Diablo Lake |
Thunder Creek trail makes its way through old growth cedar and fir trees. 1.5 miles into the hike we came to a wooden bridge and took in the peacefulness of the woods. We continued on another 1.5 miles to view waterfalls, moss, and mushrooms before heading the 3 miles back.
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| Doug from bridge |
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| Doug took this of me from Thunder Creek |
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| Giant slug, about the size of a cell phone |
The trails in this park reminded us of a fairy tale. We loved all the moss covered trees and rocks, small waterfalls, and vast vistas. We saw a sign that said North Cascade National Park is known as the American Alps. It is truly a beautiful park.
Number of Campgrounds: 13
Total Miles Hiked: 47
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