Page 9 - Jan 24

can help bring instrument aircraft down through the low overcast that often blankets the area. All are easy launching points into the NPS lands east of Puget Sound.
The American Alps
The densely forested mountains that make up North Cascades National Park are steep, jagged and teeming with glaciers, alpine lakes and lush valleys. The proliferation of waterfalls gives the park its name. The landscape is often referred to as “The American Alps” (though, it should also be noted, the same nickname is often used in reference to the Rocky Mountain area within Montana’s Glacier National Park, as well). The airports mentioned above range from 1 to 2.5 hours driving time from the western entrance of NCNP. The North Cascades Complex is much larger than the park itself and includes both the Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas. Combined, nearly 685,000 acres of land are protected within the complex, from the Canadian border south to Lake Chelan. Fully 94% of that acreage makes up the Stephen Mather Wilderness (named for the first director of the NPS). Because the park is so expansive and mostly remote, the public
facilities and best-known sites are mainly within the recreation areas. It is within them that visitors will find what limited access there is via paved roadways. Off the pavement, only a handful of dirt/gravel roads exist, leading mostly to trailheads. The 400+ miles of trails within the complex range from casual strolls giving a brief sample of the natural wonders of the area, to day hikes to waterfalls, lakes and overlooks, to some of the longest and best known hiking trails in North America, such as the Pacific Crest Trail and the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.
NCNP’s main road is North Cascades Highway, which traverses the park mainly east/west. Much of this road is generally closed November through April due to snow accumulation and, at times, conditions force its closure as early as October or can keep it closed well into May. So, the NCNP touring season is a short one (June-September most realistically, with May and October as bonus months most years). As a result, lodging is often heavily booked a year or more in advance. Plan accordingly.
Assuming an approach into the complex from one of the airports mentioned to the south and west, the most common route would be via Highway 20. Little
JANUARY 2024
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 7