Outside of Diablo Lake Vista Point, I'd consider this Washington Pass Overlook a major focal point…read moreand next best activity at North Cascades National Park. Washington Pass is located all the way in the eastern section of North Cascades...near Rainy Lake. When you're driving along Highway 20 that cuts through the heart of the park, it can't be missed and there's a pretty noticeable sign to grab your attention. Once here, the parking lot has enough spaces available and there's plenty of visitors coming and going throughout the day. After exiting your car, there's a very short paved pathway walk to the overlook. It'll take 5 minutes at the most. Once standing at the observation lookout, you're afforded spectacular views of "Liberty Bell Mountain, Early Winters Spires and Kangaroo Ridge" according to fs.usda.gov. I'd basically categorize the backdrop as a wide open perspective setting of the North Cascades Mountain Range. And there's more! Towards the backend of the viewpoint, if you continue gently climbing over a few rocks, you get another fantastic undisturbed glance from high above Highway 20. Also, if you happen to be visiting on a clear and sunny day, the surroundings can have you speechless. And when getting ready to leave here and move onto the next hike/attraction, you'll be left with fond memories and a newfound motivation for the great outdoors. Some extra details... - 30 minutes is enough time to become acquainted with the scenery. - There are restrooms next to the parking lot. - I visited midday back in July and the sun was well positioned in the sky for good photography. - Right near the trailhead walk towards the overlook, there's a terrific sign mentioning a bunch of Highway 20 Featured Hikes & Sights. I took a picture of the sign. Here are a sampling of recommended trails...Gorge Creek Falls Trail, Diablo Lake Trail, Thunder Knob Trail, Happy Creek Forest Walk, Canyon Creek Trail, Cutthroat Lake Trail and Lone Fir Interpretive Trail. - My next area of the park to explore was situated a few miles west along Highway 20. At the Rainy Pass Picnic Area, I hiked Maple Pass Trail which was a moderately strenuous path and took half the day to complete. I'd suggest attempting Maple Pass Trail if you have the time. Overall, Washington Pass Lookout is a Must-Do stop within North Cascades NP. It well represents what makes this area of Northern Washington so spectacularly beautiful. And really best of all, you don't have to work hard to capture stunning views.

Gorgeous...a must-stop!…read more We recently took a road trip through the North Cascades National Park. Once we arrived at the pass we pulled up to a closed gate, as the roads weren't all open yet for the season. No worries, we walked the road up to the overview from there. The overview is great, a very large parking area, plenty of restrooms, and picnic tables in beautiful settings. We took the path from the lot to the overview...stunning. A "see it in person because pics won't do it justice" type of spot. Take the loop back around to the lot, as the beauty continues and the path is short, but winding and fun. Lots of chipmunks and birds to watch on your short journey. Washington Pass is gorgeous to drive and even more breathtaking to see from above.

One of the most beautiful and undiscovered locations in all of Washington. The forest roads are…read morenot paved but still fine to drive on. Plenty of places to take in the vistas and escape the bustle of city life. In the two days I was birding the forest trails in this forest I never ran into two people, on a popular hiking trail. Check the weather reports as freeze-out ridge gets very cold in fall, go figure, you could easily get stranded by a snow storm, and no one would find you. This is one of the only areas where the boreal forest extends down into WA from Canada so the wildlife, trees and feel of the place is very different then you might be used to. It is a great spot to tick off the Boreal birds in Washington state. There was a huge fire around here in the summer of 2006 and I haven't been back since so I don't know how bad the damage was.

This was my last city to visit in the hope of travelling to all the cities in Washington and not…read moreonly was it a beautiful and enjoyable journey riding on the Lady of the Lake Express up to Stehekin for approximately two and a half hours, Stehekin is a quaint little community of folks that are just doing their best to get by in the great outdoors near the North Cascades. This is a very remote community and you can only reach it by ferry, boatplane or a very very long hike. Anyway, you are greated by the parks service rangers when you reach the dock and it you take a short 3-5 minute walk down the road going North you'll see this quaint little post office perched up on the hill. I believe this post office was on the verge of extinction recently due to it's remote location but it was voted to be kept open for a little while longer. The exterior is designed to weather the elements and there are windows cut out so the postal workers and peer out and watch the transient hikers and passersby as well as the locals and the gorgeous Lake Chelan close by. Take a picture in front of the office or the "Welcome to Stehekin" sign to mark that you've been there since most people probably aren't going to make a trek up here other than hiking or to just have a short stay in a cabin or boating.

What an incredible community resource. We stopped here because we were drawn in by the super cool…read moreUFO parked out front. I believe it's part of their summer learning program. We couldn't wait to check it out. They also have a lovely walkable garden with lots of information outside and we saw the most gorgeous butterflies I have ever seen! The library itself is very nice, with lots of resources. There are restrooms inside and there was a very kind gentleman checking out some DVDs who held the door for us. There is plenty of parking and there were children playing and learning together. I would love to have a place like this in my neighborhood.

Victim of the wildfires in central Washington in recent years Pateros is rebuilding itself back to…read morehealth. Sitting at the confluence of the Methow and the Columbia rivers, this is the turnoff for us during winter trips to the Methow valley when highway 20 is closed across the North Cascades. I often stop here for gas or a snack. It's a friendly little town with some decent recreation opportunities in the area and lots of waterfront homes on the lower Methow.

This cute little post office gets five stars for location and history!…read more If you are in the area and into post offices for sure you should stop by! It might not look open but it is ;)

We have THE best library in the area- and THE BEST librarians anywhere! I'm a lifelong library…read morepatron and I have great friends who are librarians all over the world, even- but considering this is a tiny library in a tiny rural town and pretty much ALL the staff are just... amazing - wow! Give them extra kudos for being so resourceful and responsive to a community's needs... I can get anything I want to read- from a special loan university book to the newest graphic novel... they have fabulous collections of music and video, and a network of libraries that can even send you things by mail if you don't get out often! I love that several of the staff now know things I might like and go out of their way to show me new and fascinating books- and they have free computer access or wifi for those times you need it- or access to printers and copiers... really, what would I do without them!

I kove the town of Conconully. My parents brought me every year when I was young unil I was 15. As…read morean adult I now go back every year for a week vacation with the RV. Great little town and they always seem to organize events on lots of weekends. I really wish they would limit boat engine size to 10hp on the lower lake as it's just too small to share with ski boats and jet skis in my opinion.