Skagit River

— Certain national parks simply do not get as much attention as others. Take, for example, North Cascades NP. The 20th largest national park in the National Park Service, covering an area of 504,781 acres, is listed by Reserve America as one of the 10 least visited parks in the nation. Even though it is under a 3-hour drive from Seattle, not many visitors flock to that park. Only approximately 30,885 people visited the park in 2020. Compare that to the Great Smoky Mountain NP, which received over 12 million visitors that same year. Part of the low visitation numbers can be attributed to the snow covering roads and several trails. The park average temperature in the summer runs in the 70s only.

North Cascades NP is a gorgeous park, especially if you enjoy hiking for hours without running into any other human being! When we first visited that park, we experienced that magnificent quiet and views without any distracting noises. That was the case for our hikes in the Diablo Lake and Pyramid Creek areas, for example.

The photos I feature here are of the Skagit River. Here is an example of a very easy and short loop trail that has beauty all around you. The River Loop trail is only 1.73 miles (2.78 km) with barely any elevation change (82 ft or 25 m). It can’t get any easier than that. The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System governmental agency informs that the Skagit River “is the largest and most biologically important river draining to Puget Sound.” The hike takes you along the river, where you are surrounded by lush vegetation and the constant sound of running waters.