My Top 5 Places on the Cascade Loop.
The Cascade Loop is over 400 miles long traveling through three scenic byways, the Stevens Pass Greenway, North Cascades Highway, and the Whidbey Scenic Isle Way. The Cascade Loop website calls this “Washington’s Ultimate Road Trip”. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. This Loop has so much to offer and there is no shortage of points of interest, so with that in mind I’ve decided to name the places that were most memorable to me in order of the direction we traveled. Everett Washington was our starting point and we traveled the Loop counterclockwise. This trip was also taken during the COVID pandemic of 2020. Some of the more popular destinations were passed over if there seemed to be too many people for my comfort level. I was going for a more remote experience but so were many others who had been self quarantining as well.
#1 Heybrook Lookout Trail
The Heybrook Lookout Trail is located in Gold Bar, Washington and is listed as a short 1.3 mile hike to the lookout tower with a moderately steep climb. So what I learned is that moderately steep for someone my age means, this thing is an ass kicker. I hiked up this moderately steep trail, at some points I hiked very slowly. The view from the lookout was worth every glute building step I took to get up that mountain. From the lookout you can see Mt. Index and Philadelphia Mountain. We stayed a top the lookout for approximately 15 minutes before many other people showed up and we had to share the tower. The return back down to the car was rather quick, it was an easy jog. The downward pull of gravity is sometimes my friend.
#2 Leavenworth
We had a hotel reservation waiting for us in Leavenworth for the evening. This will be our only hotel stay along the Cascade Loop because we have brought along our trusty Teardrop trailer to use for the remainder of this trip. We find our hotel, check in, clean off the trail dust then head to downtown Leavenworth for some German food & beer. Leavenworth is a Bavarian styled village in the Cascade Mountain range. Here we find some outdoor seating atop a balcony at the Rhein Haus restaurant. From our seats we can overlook the entire downtown of Leavenworth. The Alpine designed buildings set against the mountains are probably why this area is fondly called the “North American Alps.” I hear this place is very lovely at Christmas time, I can only imagine it.
#3 Lake Chelan
We travel further around the Loop passing through Wenatchee, the “apple capital of the world” arriving at Lake Chelan. This part of Washington state is breathtaking and I immediately realize that it’s beauty and weather are why this lake town is bustling with people and traffic. COVID schmovid, people were here for everything a summer lake has to offer, party on Wayne, party on Garth. Hotels and condos surrounded the lake and the boat traffic on the water was active. In my research I read something like, Lake Chelan is a nature lovers’ paradise, I now believe the statement. If COVID wasn’t a thing we would have happily stayed in all the hustle and bustle and I’m sure we would of had a great day, but, things being what they are…………………………… We traveled around the lake to the Manson side and spent the entire day lakeside, swimming and enjoying all the boat traffic from the boat launch nearby. As the sun was setting we headed to our campsite nearby to get a good night's rest because tomorrow we will be heading to North Cascades National Park and hitting some Alpine trails.
Lake Chelan
Liberty Bell Mountain
#4 Blue Lake / North Cascade National Park
Liberty Bell Mountain, this stunning mountain peak tells me we’ve finally made it to North Cascades National Park. This National Park has more than 300 glaciers, it’s almost entirely protected as a wilderness, with more than 500 lakes & ponds. The hiking here ranges from short scenic strolls to the very remote steep mountains. Today we have decided to take the Blue Lake trail because swimming in glacial water is kind of a bucket list item of mine, I’d like to do it at least once in my lifetime. Sitting at an elevation of 6,254 feet (1,000 ft. trail gain) Blue Lake is a 4.4 mile round trip hike. This hike will give you some nice forest, meadows, and mountain peaks along the way to Blue Lake. Once we arrived at Blue Lake, we simply enjoyed the view of the brilliant blue water. The trout that live in this water were easy to spot because the water is so clear. Trout were not the only things swimming in Blue Lake but hikers jumped in for a swim as well. No one stays in the water too long because it’s glacier water . It’s cold. This is the moment I’ve been waiting a lifetime for, I kick off my shoes and dive on in. Gahhhh!..................refreshing. Gahhhh!...........cold. Gahhhh!.........get out! I’m glad I took the plunge but I won’t be needing to do that again, it was frighteningly cold. I dried off before heading back down this mountain because we had one more hike to take today.
Blue Lake
Once we were back to the car we headed toward Diablo Lake, this was to be our epic hike of this road trip. As we drove closer to that trailhead the abundance of people and cars were just too much for my comfort level. We were reminded that summertime in a National Park is busy and this summer I’m not into crowds. We simply stopped for a quick picture of Diablo Lake and then back in the car. I have been infatuated with the intense turquoise blue color of Diablo Lake. In real life the water is truly turquoise, pictures don’t need to be filtered. This vibrant color comes from glacier flour. Glacier flour is made by glaciers grinding rocks into a very fine dust that never settles in the water.
Diablo Lake, North Cascades National Park
#5 Whidbey Island
Whidbey Scenic Isle Way might be last on my Cascade Loop top five list, but it’s my favorite part of the Loop. I’ve seen some exceptionally beautiful landscapes on this Loop trip, so calling Whidbey my favorite is really saying a lot. We cross over Deception Pass Bridge and this places us on the actual Whidbey Island. From the bridge we can see for miles, this day is so clear. On the south end of the bridge is a parking area with a few short hikes down to the beaches you can see from the bridge. The hikes down to the waters edge are short and I believe it’s worth your time. It’s beautiful here!
Whidbey Island sits almost in the center spot of Puget Sound and also lends its name to the scenic byway we are traveling. Everything on this island seems to move at a slower pace than the mainland. Ferries travel the waterways and on this clear day we can see across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Puget Sound waters are things dreams are made of. The majestic beauty here overwhelms me and I yell out the car window “I love my life!” Really, today, being here, I’m grateful.
We drive this island slowly, making many stops along the way. Mostly just looking out over the water. Relaxing. Soaking in the beauty. The Cascade Loop is quickly coming to an end.
We board the ferry from Clinton heading back to Mukileto (mainland). We have traveled over 400 miles and completed the entire Cascade Loop seeing farmlands, Alpine peaks, and the Puget Sound. This was a fabulous way to see this part of the country. If road trips aren’t your thing, this loop may change your mind.
