ross lake national recreation area

The peacefulness and the scenery it lust left us in awe. I wish we had more time but we were leaving the next day. There was no one around, we did not expect that in July

after a couple of nights at Ross Lake resort rented a canoe and took off along Ross Lake and camped overnight at one of the camp grounds. It was fabulous. I am a fair weather camper and it was not too hot and the bugs were not bad at all - essentially none. Nothing like waking up to quiet and getting a fire going and relaxing. Explored some of the island in the lake before returning.

Hiked down to Ross Lake Resort having found details at the Colonial Creek Capmground - all very exciting and enigmatic! Follow the trail down, down down (about a mile) until the gravel road, find the telephone on the pole and in a rather James Bond fashion, a boat comes across the lake to take you to the resort. We hired what you would call kayaks - you Americans have canoes and kayaks the wrong way round for us Brits!! ;o)Very reasonably priced, with friendly and helpful service for a novice. I would advise booking ahead as we were lucky to bag the last 2 person kayak - though there seemed plenty of singles.The resort offers cabins and camping - which we didn't use, but there's also a shop offering snacks - sun chips, kit kats and the like, a drinks machine and ice.A real highlight of our trip as a first time kayaker (or canoer!) Especially the high speed boat trip back to the trail

Boat-in camp sites need to be reserved. For canoeists, plan to put in on Diablo reservoir, then get shuttled by truck up to Ross. Very different experience.

Again, night travel on our bus tour. Scheduled a stop to cook at their campground facility. Great covered space and surprise! A full kitchen! It was separate from the campers so we didn't disturb anyone. There from about 9pm to midnight.

Ross Lake NRA is a part of the North Cascades National Park Complex. A lot of it lies around Highway 20, but there are other places off the main road you can get to as well. We stayed mainly within the vicinity of the highway and I'll use this review to name some highlights within the NRA that don't have their own review pages.1. North Cascades Visitors Center-Just outside Newhalem. Visitors center mainly talks about the mountains and wildlife. There are a lot of short trails that take off from the vicinity of the center and Newhalem. These include Skagit River Loop, Sterling Munro overlook, and the Rock Shelter near the center. Ladder Creek Falls and the Trail of the Cedars take off from Newhalem. All are easy. There is climbing of stairs at Ladder Creek Falls. The Skagit River Loop is the longest at 1.8 miles. Sterling Munro is very short but has a nice overlook. Rock Shelter is an old historic Indian site. Trail of the Cedars is mainly a nature walk but there are some interesting signs as well. The National Park Service and Seattle City Light also offer walking tours of Newhalem which are very informative as well. Newhalem has quite a history.2. Seattle City Light Skagit Tours- After a nice lunch made from local foods and a short walk or bus drive, the tours of Diablo Lake are scenic and wonderful. It takes you upriver to a very small peek of Ross Dam. Lots of history and scenery to behold. Off Highway 20 around MP 126. Drive over Diablo Dam and then go right to the end. Reservations needed.3. Gorge Creek Overlook-Nice, short loop trail near MP 123. One side of the highway you encounter a nice view of Gorge Lake and Dam. Other side of the highway is a beautiful waterfall.4. Thunder Knob Trail-Colonial Creek Campground. Parking is on Highway 20. This is a nice stroll up to some viewpoints. The first one on the left after 1.8 miles is the best one. No trees blocking your view of Diablo Lake and some of the peaks. It is a 3.6 mile round trip with a 400 foot elevation gain, but it doesn't feel like it. Nice trail to take friends on when they are visting the area.5. Diablo Lake Overlook-Just up the road and hill from Thunder Knob. If you don't feel like hiking, this is the viewpoint for you. More views of the lake and more mountains to enjoy. Lots of interpretive signs and restrooms are available. A must stop on the highway.There are some overlooks of Ross Lake on maps as well even though they are not marked on the highway. Just look for some interpretive signs up the road from Diablo Lake and you'll have some nice views of Ross Lake. We had a very clear day and Hozomeen Mountain was in view and that is almost Canada.Very scenic area. Don't forget the camera.

Just back form a wonderful week on Ross Lake. What would I have liked to know before we left for our trip? 1. Canoeing gear rented from Ross Lake Resort is of high quality and appropriate for the conditions. Though they do not rent dry suits. Traveling with young-ish children, I do recommend them. The suits also made for much more pleasant and longer-lasting swimming sessions. 2. I estimate that for every hour you canoe up-lake, it will take you three hours to canoe down-lake (back to Ross Lake Resort and the dam). We had fair and pleasant weather, but still, even the moderate breeze was enough resistance to give one a good workout. 3. The poop shacks (aka outhouses) are right next to the camping spots. Be prepared for a pungent odor unless you are lucky enough to land a spot at a distance, or upwind. Also, just because you reserved a "group site" be prepared for not enough sites to set up your tent. We spent a night at a "group site" that had two tent pads. We were a gorup of seven with a total of four tents.

We stayed 3 nights at Ross Lake Resort. I felt a little intimidated at first by how complicated it is to get there, but it was really not bad. There's a designated Ross Lake parking area at the Diablo Lake ferry dock. You have to carry all your stuff down the steps to the ferry dock, but it's pretty easy after that. The twice-daily ferry takes you to the other side of Diablo Lake, where you're met by the friendly people from Ross Lake Resort. They drive you and your bags in the back of a flat-bed truck overland to Ross Lake. There, you're met by another boat, which takes you directly to your cabin at Ross Lake Resort.The office at RLL has lots of games and puzzles that you can borrow and return at your leisure. The people working there were as friendly and helpful as can be. They gave us life jackets for our kids to use for the duration of our stay (since the cabins are directly on the water, we had them wear lifejackets while playing outside).We rented a motorboat from RLL one day and explored the lake. We were there in June, which is early in the season and still cool there, and except for a few kayakers, we had the lake to ourselves. We found a beautiful beach with a waterfall, where we got out to explore. We also hiked the trail from RLL to Ross Dam.Ross Lake NRA is a unit of the North Cascades National Park. You can stop at the visitor center on your way into Newhalem. They have a movie about the park and lots of interesting displays. If you have kids, they can earn a Junior Ranger badge there.Note that there is no food available at Ross Lake Resort, so you need to bring in all your food and beverages with you. In Newhalem, there is only a "General Store", which has convenience-store type food. Your best bet is to stop for groceries before you get to Newhalem.

We learned from others on here that you could get a Ferry to the hiking trails along Ross Lake Recreational Area via Ross Lake Lodge. This option allowed us to hike from Hozomeen Campground along the Canadian Border to hike all the way to Ligthning Creek Landing some 14 miles to the south. But it was an amazing opportunity to hike in a pristine setting without another soul on the trail but you. In fact we actually hiked for 7 hours and only saw one other person on the trail all day and that person very much surprised us and was not until we had already hiked 5 miles in. This was the longest and most seculed hike I have ever done. It was another part of an amazing NW Pacific Vacation.

Ross Lake befindet sich im Herzen des Nationalparks. Aber da gibt es Menschen, Dämmen, einige Frames, offiziell ist diese Region so genannte "Ross Lake National Recreation Area." Machen sie ein Ausgang mit einem kanoe am See ist ein Muss. Darüber hinaus, wenn Sie die Gelegenheit zu einem Spaziergang auf einem der vielen Wanderwege um sich zu haben, entdecken Sie die herrliche Landschaft. Ich empfehle auch auf einem Campingplatz zu stoppen, weil Sie wirklich in Gemeinschaft mit der Natur.

アメリカの国立公園が好きで、今まで20ヶ所近く行っていますが、入園料を払わずに済んだところはここが始めてかも。過去にも、公園入り口に料金を徴収する入園ゲートがない公園は沢山ありましたが、公園の地図や新聞をもらうために必ずビジターセンターでお金を払っていました。しかし、ここのビジターセンターは入園者名簿に自分で名前を書いて、勝手に地図をもらって帰れました。レンジャーの人に入園料を請求されるのではないかと思いましたが、何も言わなくても公園新聞をくれました。もちろん景色も最高で、シアトルに行くならついでにノースカスケード国立公園には是非行ってもらいたいです。