Must-see attractions in Washington Cascades

Home to numerous trailheads and the starting point for most summit hikes, Paradise also holds the iconic Paradise Inn (built in 1916) and the massive,…

Ape Cave is a 2-mile-long lava tube formed 2000 years ago by a lava flow that followed a deep watercourse. It's the longest lava tube in the western…

The Bald Eagle area is essentially the 10-mile stretch of the Skagit River between Rockport and Marblemount. After salmon spawn, their spent carcasses…

The USA's fifth-highest peak outside Alaska, majestic Mt Rainier is also one of the country's most beguiling mountains. Part of a 368-sq-mile national…

Just south of Ross Lake, Diablo Lake is held back by the 389ft Diablo Dam. A pullout off Hwy 20 known as the Diablo Dam Overlook provides incredible views…

Windy Ridge Viewpoint is a highlight of the remote eastside entrance to Mt St Helens. Here visitors get a palpable, if eerie, sense of the destruction…

Ross Lake stretches across 23 miles north toward the Canadian border. In keeping with the wild terrain, it's accessible only by trail or water. Part of…

The wildest of all Pacific Northwest wildernesses, the lightly trodden, 1000-sq-mile North Cascades National Park (inaugurated in 1968) has no major…

Situated at the end of Hwy 504 and looking directly into the mouth of the Mt St Helens crater, the observatory has exhibits that depict the geologic…

Situated 5 miles east of Castle Rock, this center is the best introduction to Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument. There's a classic film and various…

Just north of Concrete are two reservoirs formed by a pair of dams on the Baker River. Washington's largest colony of nesting osprey is found at Lake…

Buckner Orchard is one of the Stehekin area's oldest homesteads and makes for a refreshing walk; pick up a self-guided-tour brochure near the historic…

Boulder Cave, on the Chinook Scenic Byway, is a rarity in the relatively cave-free terrain of the Pacific Northwest and doubly unique due to its formation…

The tiny, free Longmire Museum describes the history of Longmire, originally the park's headquarters. James Longmire first came here in 1883 and noticed…

Smoke jumping is a method of firefighting that involves parachuting out of a plane into a rural area to tackle a forest fire before it gets out of control…

It's hard to differentiate the reconstructed buildings in the museum from the rest of Winthrop, such is the town's eerie authenticity. However, the museum…

Built with funds provided by the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs, this interpretive center describes the history and ecology of the 574-acre…

Learn about the Skagit River ecosystem and watch bald eagles during their migration.

Coldwater Lake, 43 miles east of Castle Rock, was created in 1980 when water backed up behind a dam caused by debris left behind by the Mt St Helens…

Situated at Mile 33 on Hwy 504, the learning center is basically a showcase for the lumber industry (it was built by timber company Weyerhaeuser), though…