North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin — Hotel in Leavenworth

We stayed here for three nights, it’s a great location and an OK hotel. Arriving on the ferry around 11 AM means that you have several hours to kill before you can check in. The room itself was fine. We had a nice view of the lake and easy access to everything. The food options are a little limiting in the third night. We were definitely craving something else for dinner. I think the strongest selling point is the location. We brought our paddleboard on the ferry and used it every day. We also rented bikes locally and used those to get around everywhere. There are many trails that are easily accessible. The trails closest to the lodge were severely damaged by the 2024 fire and are very exposed now with very little shade. This became an issue on the 95° day when things were quite hot even at 8 AM on the hillside. We would definitely come back and stay here again. I think I would also explore at least having dinner at the ranch. We went to the bakery each morning for breakfast, which was fantastic. We also had lunch at the bakery on occasion. There is a natural ebon flow of people arriving on the ferries, some of which are just for the day and some of which are staying overnight as well as tourist buses, which depart from in front of the hotel to take people up to rainbow Falls or up to the trailhead. It is 2 miles to the bakery from the hotel and it was much more pleasant to ride there on a bike, than walk. The water of the lake is very cold and we did not swim fully. Just soaking our legs occasionally. It looked like there were places where you could rent kayaks or paddle boards, but we never saw anyone staffing that location and we never asked. We had our own paddleboard, however. Our room did not have air-conditioning, but was given to fans with a screen door. Our room was ADA accessible, which was both a blessing and a curse. While we had a ramp going up to our room, it was right next to the main steps that everyone uses to get to their rooms from the restaurant so there was more noise in our room then probably typical. We did not request the ADA...

We had made a reservation for a room at the lodge, and a week before our trip, a fire broke out in Chelan on the Lakeshore trail. We called the Ranger station and were advised to stay away from the area as both Evacuation Level 1 and Evacuation Level 3 warnings were in effect in the closely surrounding area. The Ferry informed us they would no longer be dropping us off at the drop-off point due to the fire and fully refunded us our fare. The Lodge, however, initially refused - with a week left and with there still being vacancy at the lodge. They stated that as the week went on, however, depending on the status of the fire, they could consider either a cancellation with refund or a transfer of the reservation to a later date, given that they were not fully booked. I called several times throughout the week for an update on the situation, as the fire in the area grew worse and we continued to be advised against visiting the area. One staff member said she could provide a refund but would have to call me back, and never did. I called several times over the course of the next days and spoke to a different person who said they could transfer my reservation, but she would need to call me back, and she never did either. I called repeatedly in advance of the day we reserved and could not reach anyone. They processed our booking as if we had been there and fully charged us and I cannot get a hold of anyone in regards to a refund. They, did, however, send a follow-up survey asking us how our "stay" was. Lovely.|Being the only lodge in the area doesn't mean you have to treat people this way, take their money when you're not fully booked, and ignore them. This was a real shame to see. We would have been happy to move our reservation to another date, but now we will never want to visit and will recommend that others do not reserve with...

You cannot beat this place! The Lodge has so many options of accommodations, from BASIC hotel-like rooms with a deck and view to small log cabins to bigger spaces that can hold multiple families. With there only being so many spots on the ferries to get to and fro, there's a limited amount of people that are even in the area at any given time, which helps to make it the perfect place to escape life and stress. There's no cell service and no tvs, so you will have to take advantage of the outdoor options and good company that you grace, but it's so worth it. You'll definitely want to rent a bike (I recommend the electric bikes from Lady of the Lake bikes) and take a few hours to explore the road and all the gifts it has to offer along the way (a pastry shop, gorgeous bridges, amazing waterfall, gardens, history, kayaking, fishing, breathtaking views, etc). You can visit for a day, but it'll be a packed day so I recommend at least staying overnight (we love to take the early ferry up and back). There are a few different food options for dinner: (You HAVE to make reservations at the Ranch for the buffet, so don't forget! there's no same-day reservations as they're always sold out), the lodge has a restaurant as well that serves basic food choices like burgers, salads and chicken strips, but the chef who works the weekends for breakfast makes an AMAZING meal! The Pastry Shop has TO-DIE-FOR cinnamon rolls; don't wait to come back and get them later. Everyone in Stehekin is so nice and helpful. We will...