Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm
North Cascades
As of July 31, 2026, Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm are generally clear of snow, with only minor patches reported earlier in the month. The road to the trailhead is open and in good condition, though washboarding can be present. Parking is extremely limited; arrive very early (before 7 AM) or plan for roadside parking extending for miles, especially on weekends. Wildfire smoke has recently rolled in, impacting visibility and air quality as of July 31st.
Expect abundant wildlife, including bears, mountain goats, marmots, and pikas. The trail is well-maintained, though some sections involve rocky scrambles, particularly towards Sahale Glacier Camp. Water crossings and muddy spots were noted in mid-July. Reports from July indicate a healthy wildflower bloom.
generated from 49 reports
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Left Seattle before 6am and got to the trailhead around 9am on a Friday. The lot was full but luckily found a parallel spot very close by. I agree with another poster in that many cars needed to paral...
Gorgeous trail! Went with a group of friends and saw tons of wild life! Bears marmots and pikas! A black bear ran right in front some of the girls in the group! Thankfully we had bear spray and knew w...
The road is open all the way to the parking lot and in good condition. We arrived at 6:45AM on a (mostly) sunny Saturday to find the parking lot full already, but we easily parked along the road. When...
Parking was super busy. The lot was completely full by 6:00 AM on Saturday, and when we returned, cars were parked along the narrow road for another mile leading up to the trailhead.The main trail to ...
This was my first time hiking this trail and it didn’t disappoint. Wow. There’s a reason the North Cascades are called the Little Alps. Gorgeous, sunny day took us up to the glacier camp and back. Unb...
Great trip report from stefre for today. They did a great job of describing the hike and today's conditions. There were some spots of mud which were easy to cross. The goats were plentiful and they...
Great trip report from steady for today. They did a great job of describing the hike and today's conditions. There were some spots of mud which were easy to cross. The goats were plentiful and they...
As other reviewers have mentioned the trek up and back to the glacier camps is somewhere between 12 and 13 miles, depending on what app you use to track. The road up to the trail is not bad, doable in...
Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm was an amazing hike! We arrived at 6:30am and found the parking lot 40% full, even for a very foggy morning. Note that for lower-clearance vehicles (e.g. Mini Cooper) we ha...
extremely beautiful hike, honestly pretty easy for most of it unless you want to make the trek up to sahale glacier camp.tons of mountain goats, marmots, and chipmunks.arrived on sat morning at about ...
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