Weather forecast
Wed, Jul 1Start
Seattle, WA
78°
51°
💧 13%
En route
North Cascades, Newhalem
77°
55°
💧 19%
Overnight
Spokane Valley, WA
90°
59°
💧 10%
Forecast via Open-Meteo
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North Cascades National Park
Jr. Ranger Badge
Junior Ranger badge — Newhalem VC closes 5:00 PM
Game Plan
Arrive ~10:35 AM; badge done well before lunch with hours to spare.
- Sterling Munro Trail (330 yd boardwalk) — Your noted trail — steps from the VC to a Picket Range panorama. (Spelled 'Sterling Munro.')
- Trail of the Cedars (Newhalem) (0.5 mi loop) — Suspension footbridge over the Skagit into old-growth cedars.
- Thunder Knob (optional) (3.6 mi RT) — Only if the kids are fresh — Diablo Lake views from above.
- Diablo Lake Vista Point — the single must-stop; the glacial-flour turquoise is unreal
- Gorge Creek Falls — falls straight under the road bridge
- Washington Pass Overlook — alpine drama with zero effort
Sunrise, Sunset & Golden Hour
Sunrise
5:06 AM PDT
Sunset
9:11 PM PDT
Be set up by (sunrise)
4:36 AM
Be set up by (sunset)
8:51 PM
Sunrise spot — Driving day — Skagit Valley flatlands on WA-20 near Burlington have stunning morning mist and valley light even at 7:30 AM departure (golden hour is just past).
Skagit Valley mist on WA-20 at 7:30 AM is beautiful even post-sunrise.
Sunset spot — Arbor Crest Winery cliff, Spokane — a 200-ft basalt cliff overlooking the Spokane valley. Free to walk, faces south/west. Or Riverside State Park Bowl & Pitcher overlook. You arrive Spokane ~6:15 PM with 2+ hrs before sunset.
Arbor Crest Winery cliff or Bowl & Pitcher overlook by 8:45 PM — best sunset filming in the Spokane area.
Heads Up
No entrance fee and no reservation at North Cascades — rare these days.
Services are thin between Newhalem and Winthrop (~70 mi) — fuel before WA-20 climbs.
Trip Journal — Day 12
No journal entries for this day yet.