Low
Wagoner
The national parks provide outdoor recreation and outstanding scenic terrain, but crowds can make communing with nature difficult. For real respite, it can be worth seeking out the parks less traveled, such as North Cascades National Park in northwest Washington. The park attracted 30,000 visitors in 2022, compared with the Grand Canyon’s 4.7 million and Yosemite’s nearly 3.3 million.
The 500,000-acre North Cascades National Park is part of a “complex” that also includes Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The park offers boating, hiking, camping and about 18 miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, which runs from Southern California at the Mexican border to northern Washington at the Canadian border. There are also 260 prehistoric sites that offer information about the Native people of the Northwest Coast, including mines and mining camps, fire lookouts, sheepherder camps and more.
NCSL asked Rep. Sam Low (R) and Sen. Keith Wagoner (R), whose District 39 includes the national park, about the scenic beauty of this less-crowded gem.
What does North Cascades National Park mean for your district?
Low: North Cascades National Park is truly one of the best-kept secrets not only in the Pacific Northwest but across the U.S. The North Cascades National Park brings hiking, recreational and tourist opportunities through Skagit County when the road is normally open between early May and mid-November. Five months of the year, the main road—North Cascades Highway—is covered in snow, sometimes as much as 10 feet.
Wagoner: NCNP is a scenic wonderland that brings thousands of visitors to our district annually. Since the only highway access through the park runs through the 39th Legislative District, our local businesses benefit directly from the tourism. But the park is not without controversy, particularly when local sentiments do not align with federal policies. Case in point is a controversial plan to increase the grizzly bear population by importing bears from out of state. Residents living near the park are generally opposed to the plan and prefer to let the existing grizzlies multiply naturally.
Have you been to the park? What is your favorite part?
Low: I have been to the park many times over the years. My favorite part is the turquoise blue waters of Diablo Lake and Dam. My wife and I are looking forward to one day doing the two- to three-day overnight remote wilderness hike to the inaccessible-by-car community of Stehekin. The only other way to get there is by a four-hour boat ride from Lake Chelan. We planned a trip a couple of years ago and had to cancel due to a forest fire.
Wagoner: I have been to the park’s interpretive center, which is very informative. My hiking has been limited to the national recreation area, which is distinct from the national park proper. There is a reason the mountains are called the Cascades: the amazing cascading waterfalls. The Pacific Crest Trail is a big draw. In fact, my sister completed the entire northbound hike a few years ago. There was a big drop in use due to COVID-19, but permit application numbers are on the rebound. It feels like there is a lot of pent-up desire to get out and do things after COVID-19, and that translates to more visitors on day hikes and a return to normal levels of thru-hikers.
What else is great about your district? What else should visitors see?
Low: Fly in to the brand-new, international award-winning Seattle Paine Field airport, located just 10 minutes from the district. You can visit Sedro Woolley, Concrete and the majestic Skagit River in the north part of the district. The beauty of gorgeous Lake Stevens, historic Marysville, Granite Falls and Sultan in Snohomish County occupy the southern part of the district. The 39th Legislative District is one of the most diverse when it comes to mountains, rivers, waterfalls and farmland. Ebey Island, just below sea level due to diking, is the lowest point in the district; the highest point is the active volcano Glacier Peak at 10,541 feet.
Wagoner: We have some of the best bird-watching opportunities in the state, including bald eagles, snow geese and the largest concentration of trumpeter swans in the lower 48. We are also home to the mighty Skagit River, the largest and most biologically important river feeding the Puget Sound. The Skagit is the only river in Washington that supports all five species of salmon and is incredibly important to our orca population.
Rep. Carolyn Eslick (R) also serves District 39.
Nora Caley is a Denver-based freelance writer.
“My District” gives NCSL members a chance to talk about life in the places they represent, from high-profile events and destinations to the fun facts only the locals know. The responses have been edited for length and clarity.