North Cascade
NORTH CASCADE
NAME: North Cascade National Park
STATE: WASHINGTON
SIZE: 789 sq mile
This is one of my favorite park by far. There is a reason why thy call it “The American Alps’”. It’s got steep mountains with filled jagged peaks, deep valleys cascading waterfalls and glaciers. This park is the jewels of the Pacific Northwest.
Zit was established in 1968 over 789 sq miles.
The first time I came here I drove here from Pennsylvania. It was a 10 days road trip back and forth. State of Washington got so much to give, and in my opinion it is the most beautiful state of all. Most of the time I spent in the state I reside in Seattle, because from here everything is so close. After I’ve seen everything in the state I came for, I visited this park for last. There is a few beautiful things that you can see here. The waters are Christal clear, but when you hike or drive higher, is so green-blue like a jewelry. Water very cold even the summer, I don’t recommend to swim in it.
Basically only two entrance one road on the entire park. The remaining park is for hiking. The road in the park is pretty short, but gorgeous. prepared yourself for a lots of stop here. Most of these stops are for lookout, some of them is for the beaches.
FACTS
This park is really great for back packing, back country camping, cross-country skiing, kayaking etc.
The park shelters grizzly bears and gray wolves, plus more than 200 bird species
The park is got more then 300 glaciers, rise over 8000 feet, the largest mountain Goode Mountain which is 9,220 feet tall.
LET’S HIKE:
The most of the trails in this park is a multi backpacking trails. The trails Pyramid Lake trail is the shortest trail, with moderate, only 4.2 miles long and its going around the Pyramid Lake. The cascade Pass and the Sahale Arm tare rail both difficult 23 miles hike, the Park Creek Pass from Ross Lake to Stehekin is a difficult 28 miles hike. The Big Beaver and the Hannegan Trail takes the hikers to some of the most pristine areas, but requires a water taxi on Ross Lake or a 13 mile drive on forest service road.. The trails are between 40-50 miles long.
ACTIVITIES
The park offers you entertaining such as great hiking trails, beaches and camping sites. There are two main lakes that you should stop and see is the Diablo and the Ross lake. The very last lookout I really recommend to stop at the Washington Pass Lookout, because what you going t see is jaw dropping view to the valley from about 8000 ft.
YOU CAN DIE!
North Cascade NP is actually a park where you can die! There are wild animals, there are heights, so you can fall or perhaps you can get lost. North Cascade has the highest death rate of all 63 national parks. It means an average 3-4 people dies of 100 000 visitors. Mostly by fall. So this National park is considered the most dangerous national Park in the entire nation.
North Cascades in Washington has a death rate far higher than other national parks in the U.S.
| Park | Average yearly vistors | Deaths per 100,000 visitors |
|---|---|---|
| North Cascades National Park (Wash.) | 25,214 | 3.7 |
| Wrangell – St Elias National Park & Preserve (Alaska) | 67,035 | 1.09 |
| Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (Calif.) | 577,853 | 0.99 |
| Denali National Park & Preserve (Alaska) | 450,395 | 0.93 |
| Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River (N.Y. and Pa.) | 253,357 | 0.63 |
| Big Thicket National Preserve (Texas) | 166,639 | 0.56 |
| Virgin Islands National Park (Virgin Islands) | 375,492 | 0.5 |
| Big Bend National Park (Texas) | 389,196 | 0.43 |
| Little River Canyon National Preserve (Ala.) | 367,654 | 0.4 |
| Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.) | 1,261,032 | 0.36 |
Source: NBC News analysis of National Park Service data
Graphic: Nigel Chiwaya / NBC News