North Cascades
4-Day Summertime Adventure Itinerary based out of Mazama, Washington
Washington Alps Adventure
If you ever wanted to go to the Swiss Alps but you live in the states, this itinerary is the one for you! It combines amazing views of what I now call the “Washington Alps” aka the North Cascades with river floating, stargazing, mountain biking, and sunset picnics all packed into an adventuresome four days.
Diablo Lake Vista Point
High-Level Itinerary
Day 1
Hike Maple Pass Loop Trail & Yoga at the Ranch
Day 2
Mountain Bike the Methow Valley & Hike Blue Lake Trail
Day 3
Float the River, Lunch in Winthrop, & Sunset Picnic
Day 4
Hike Goat’s Peak Trail, then head back home
Lodging: Mazama Ranch House
There are quite a few options for places to stay. For the hikes we did, I recommend staying in Mazama, where you can find a beautiful cabin or inn and stay within an hour of everything on the itinerary. However, Winthrop is a bustling little town, right along the river with additional lodging options and more options for eating / night life. It does add about 50 minutes round trip to most of the hikes on the itinerary since it is further east. My personal preference is to stay closer and avoid additional drive time.
We stayed at the Mazama Ranch House and absolutely loved it! The main house has two wings with sectioned off rooms, as well as a few different cabins you can stay in. It is very close to all the outdoor activities / hikes, and right next to the Mazama Grocery Store, which was fully stocked with high quality foods, fresh locally-grown produce, a variety of dairy-free and gluten-free options, and an on-site bakery and restaurant.
We stayed in the Longhorn Cabin and it was exactly what we were looking for: rustic, picturesque, and spacious (sleeps 2-4). It had a pullout couch on the main floor and a queen-size bed in the loft. It also had an adorable, fully-equipped kitchen. Beautiful sunflowers surround the cabin outside and it is just a few steps away from a hot tub, secluded by even more sunflowers.
$$$ Price: The price varies based on seasonality and weekday/weekend rates. We paid a total of $475 for 4 nights (Tuesday – Friday night).
Drinking Water: The well water that bubbles up into the cabin is not only drinkable but it does taste pretty great so you can fill all your containers right at the cabin.
Service / WiFi: The WiFi is okay. It was a little slow but better than nothing. I wouldn’t count on it for super reliable streaming. However, we were able to stream Netflix every night except Friday night. The cell service in the valley was good and pretty reliable as well.
Rustic Aspects: It came with a few mice crawling around the cabin. We even found one in a mouse trap the first day. However, still a perfect location to enjoy the beauty of the North Cascades, especially for the price:
Location Information relevant to Itinerary:
Getting There
Seattle straight to Mazama Ranch House: 3.5 hrs, 176 miles
Seattle to Diablo Lake: 2.5 hrs, 128 miles
Diablo Lake to Washington pass: 36 min, 30.8 miles
Washington Pass to Mazama Ranch House: 20 min, 17.6 miles
Essentials
Hot Tub: 1 min, 20 ft from cabin
Mazama Grocery Store: 3 min, .1 mile from cabin
Goat’s Beard Mountain Supplies: 3 min, .1 mile from cabin
Activities
Methow River Floating to Mazama Ranch House: 5 min, .2 mile
Winthrop to Mazama: 16 min, 13.7 miles
Blue Lake Trailhead to Mazama Ranch House: 21 min, 18.6 miles
Maple Pass Loop to Mazama Ranch House: 25 min, 22.5 miles
Goat Peak Lookout Trail to Mazama Ranch House: 37 min, 13.6 miles
Day 1
9:00 am Leave Mazama
9:30 am Maple Pass Loop Hike
12:30 pm Lunch at the top
1:00 pm Head back down
2:30 pm Drive back to Mazama
3:00 pm Yoga
5:00 pm Dinner
6:30 Hot Tub & Movie Night