It was after dark when we turned off of Washington Route 20, the North Cascades Scenic Highway, at mile marker 162.3 and onto NF 500. The half-mile paved forest service road ends at a parking lot with spaces for over 50 vehicles, including buses and RVs. Vault toilets are also provided.
The trail to the observation site leaves from the eastern end of the parking lot. Taking the right fork, the Washington Pass Trail #585 is an ADA-accesssible, paved trail of about 500 feet that leads to a large, fenced rectangular rock ledge of about 20 feet by 30 feet.
The ledge is the Washington Pass Observation Site. It is fairly smooth, but not level as it angles down to the southwest. Even with a nearly full moon rising, a flashlight was essential to seeing and avoiding dips or rises that could twist an ankle or even cause a fall along the trail and especially on the ledge. The trail continues from the northern corner of the ledge back to the parking lot for a ¼-mile loop, but we chose to walk back the way we came and avoid the stairs on the loop portion in the dark. We stopped on our September 2022 visit to the North Cascades National Park.
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| Kangaroo Ridge (8183') |
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| Early Winters Spires (7807') and Liberty Bell Mountain |
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| A closer view of the Liberty Bell Group |
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| The moon was just rising over Kangaroo Ridge |
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| Another view of Kangaroo Ridge |
There is no parking or other fee at Washington Pass Observation Site.
The Washington Pass Observation Site webpage is https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/okawen/recarea/?recid=59493.
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