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North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park · Whatcom County · established 1968
NPS calls this the most heavily glaciated area in the United States outside Alaska, with more than 300 glaciers on the high peaks.
North Cascades National Park is the heart of a park-service complex that also includes Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. The NPS glaciers page says the park has more than 300 glaciers and is the most heavily glaciated area in the United States outside Alaska. Congress established the park in 1968.
The park foundation document lists North Cascades National Park at 501,458 acres, Ross Lake National Recreation Area at 116,798 acres, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area at 62,902 acres, with 312 active glaciers. An NPS climate brief puts the complex at 681,158 acres, with about 42 square miles of glaciers and a 53 percent area loss since 1900.
The high country is ice, rock, and deep valleys. The sources below are the National Park Service record of the glaciers, the foundation document, and the climate brief.
- Geography & Geology
Sources (3)
government · Tier S
National Park ServiceGlaciers
government · Tier S
National Park ServiceClimate Change
government · Tier S
National Park ServiceFoundation Document, North Cascades National Park Service Complex
Last reviewed: September 20, 2026
Keep wandering
same park
Cascade PassNorth Cascades' most popular day hike climbs 3.7 miles and 1,700 feet to a pass that once carried travelers through the range.
same park
Lake ChelanNPS calls this the third-deepest lake in the United States, a long glacial trench that ends at the roadless village of Stehekin.
same park
North Cascades National Park, 1968President Johnson signed Public Law 90-544 on October 2, 1968, creating a national park and two recreation areas for "majestic mountain scenery."
same park
Ross LakeA long reservoir behind Ross Dam fills the Skagit valley inside Ross Lake National Recreation Area, one of three lakes made by Seattle City Light.