Most UNDERRATED National Park in the US?! | Hiking the Sahale Arm Trail in North Cascades

We make it Washington and start off our time here with an awesome hike in North Cascade National Park. We hike the Cascade Pass & Sahale Arm Trail which is around 12 miles round trip, with 4,000 feet of elevation gain.

We make it to the trail around 8AM and are very surprised to see so few cars in the parking lot on a Sunday. It starts off as a very cloudy and foggy morning. The trail climbs steadily to Cascade Pass for the first 3.7 miles and that starts out with a section of 30 + switchbacks. The trail wastes no time in gaining elevation. From the parking lot, it zig-zags up the side of the mountain for 2.7 miles with 1,500 feet of elevation gain.

For the entirety of the 30 + switchbacks, we hike in the trees and the fog adds a bit of a unique feel and mystic to the morning. We are still really crossing our fingers it will clear throughout the day though!

Shortly after the final switchback, we make our way out of the trees and watch as the clouds and fog lift a bit, We get our first glimpse of the beautiful and rugged mountains around us and it gets us very excited for the day and we are even more hopeful now for clear(er) weather!

Just as quickly as the clouds leave, new ones blow into the valley so we continue on our way to Cascade Pass. This section of the trail levels out a bit and becomes easier with only 300 feet of total ascent over the mile distance.

We reach Cascade Pass which is completely covered in the clouds so we continue towards the Sahale Arm Trail. Just beyond Cascade Pass, there is a trail split and we head left towards Sahale Arm. This part of the trail lasts 0.8 miles and adds another 650 feet of total ascent. The trail ascends through more switchbacks that are steeper and rockier than before.

We make it up the switchbacks and come out onto the ridgeline and at this point, most of the low-lying clouds have lifted. The views are incredible! There are layers and layers of mountains all around us and we can see Doubtful Lake up ahead with the Sahale Mountain towering above.

We start along the ridge and shortly after we pass a hiker coming from the other direction who informs us there is a bear just up ahead right off the trail eating blueberries.

We anxiously make our way towards the bear and sure enough he is just below the trail. He cannot be bothered by us or a couple other hikers watching him eat his body weight in blueberries! He was only about 100M from us but rarely even took the time to look up our way.

After watching the bear for 30 or so minutes, we continue on the Sahale Arm ridgeline that circles around Doubtful Lake for about a mile. We are still climbing, but it’s more gradual here.

This does not last long, we start the final steep ascent to reach the Sahale Glacier Camp. The final ascent is only 0.6 miles long but adds another 950 feet of elevation. It is definitely the toughest part of the hike but the views keep getting better the higher we get!

We are certainly rewarded for our efforts once we reach the Sahale Glacier Camp. We stand at 7,600 feet and have panoramic views of the North Cascades. There are spectacular views over Doubtful Lake and layers of jagged, snow-capped peaks surrounding us! We hang out at the top, taking in the views for a couple hours before making our way back down the 6 miles back to the car.

I have heard that Cascade Pass is the most popular day hike in the National Park and I can definitely understand why. The hike offers some of the most incredible mountain scenery we have seen.

We are blown away to learn that North Cascade National Park consistently makes the top 10 list for the least visited National Parks. It really is unbelievable considering how much this park has to offer. It has vast wilderness, rugged mountains, lakes, and over 300 glaciers!

The North Cascades does make you work for it though.. much of what you can drive through isn't even in the actual National Park. It requires a lot of effort but you are certainly rewarded if you are willing to put in the work!

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