Glacier Peak Resort/Skagit River RV

The park has new owners and they are working hard to make a ton of improvements. The park is in a beautiful area right along the Skagit River and just outside of the North Cascades National Park. The managers are very friendly and put us in a very nice site that is big rig and satellite friendly. The main access roads are paved and the sites are gravel. They have decent wifi across the park with multiple points and networks. The park has a clean shower, bathroom and laundry facility along with a game room that has a few cardio machines and a foosball table, shuffle board and two pinball machines. There is also a small cafe on the property with great diner food. We enjoyed our stay here and will be returning when our path brings us back to this area. We rate this park a 4 out of 5 based upon the value and the location + amenities.

North Cascades National Park

North Cascades National Park

As I sit here, exhausted, I am so thankful I was able to experience North Cascades National Park. One of my sisters was here last year and said she loved it so I am glad we were able to fit it into our schedule.
The park is small but GORGEOUS!!! I am not sure why I love it so much but I think it may have to do with the fact that it reminds me of my beloved Sawtooths from home.  :)
We drove into the the park our first day here and it was very cloudy, almost storm like.  It made the views seem eerie and other wordly.  I was so excited to start exploring!
We did 2 long hikes and 2 short ones. One of the long ones took us on the Pacific Crest Trail.  For those of you not familiar with it, it is the trail that the book, "Wild" and subsequent movie are based upon.  It is like the "Super Bowl" for hikers.  It is a trail that runs from the America/Mexico border to the America/Canada border.  We walked only 10 miles of it but it was enough to entice me to do more at a later date.  Maybe even a 10 day to month long trip!
Each hike was filled with breathtaking views and left me in awe.  I can not explain the beauty and majesty of this park!  It is by far in the top 2 of my favorite national parks.  As always, the pictures will not do it justice so you are just going to have to visit on your own.  ;)

North Cascades National Park

What a surprising National Park. I did not realize this park existed until we started planning our RV route. My first reference for planning our tip was the list of National Parks. As we were planning to drive right by on our way to Canada, of course we had to stop to explore it. I am amazed to say that this is on my top 3 National Parks that we have visited. The hikes were amazing and the views of the mountains, glaciers and valleys took our breath away. We spent 4 full days here and did 35+ miles of hiking with 15K+ feet of elevation change. Not a bad way to spend the week. We started off hiking into Blue Lake, which was beautiful, but crowded. We then hiked into Cascade Pass and up the Sahale Arm. It is incredible to be up at the level of the glaciers. We did a slow day of little hikes throughout the park and then ended with our big hike along the PCT to the Cutthroat Pass. It was fun to do 10+ miles along the renowned PCT. We have the urge to come back to the PCT and do a 5-10 day hike along it. This is one of those posts where we have too many pictures and they don't do the views justice. Tomorrow we pack up and head into Canada!!!!

Seattle

Rainier National Park