Seattle’s First Wave of Snowy Outdoorsy Folks

North Cascades National Park Today, I finally went hiking! Missed Seattle’s autumn and jumped straight into the winter scenery. The snowy mountains and icy lakes are just breathtakingly beautiful! 📍 North Cascades National Park 🔹 It’s a 3-hour drive one way from the city. At the end of October, there’s no snow on the road, but the trailhead parking lot starts to have snow, and the trail is covered in snow throughout. Half of the lake surface is already frozen, so it doesn’t look blue. 🔹 The round trip is about 4.5-5 miles, with an elevation gain of around 940ft. The moving time is about 2 hours 15 minutes to 35 minutes. The overall slope is not steep, making it beginner-friendly. The snow is currently packed down, so no snowshoes are needed, but spikes and gaiters are optional. Make sure to bring trekking poles, gloves, and a hat (snow often falls from the trees). 🔹 Fees: Although there are no ticket checkpoints at North Cascades National Park, the trailhead parking lot requires a recreation pass. We’re not sure if anyone checks, but we hung our national parks annual pass on the car just in case. 🔹 This national park hardly has any trash bins, so you need to take all your trash with you. #SeattleSurroundings #MyHikingNotes #WhereToGoInSeattleOnWeekends #SeattleOutdoors #VancouverSurroundings #SeattleWeekend #SeattleTravel #WashingtonState #SeattleHiking #OffTheBeatenPath #MyOffTheBeatenPathTravelGuide #GreatForOutdoorsPhotos #HikingRouteRecommendations #SceneryOnlySeenByHiking #HikingHealsMe