I have seen Olympic & Mt. Rainier in past .

This time would like to see N. Cascades with some 3-5 mile mild- moderate hikes within 1000 feet elevation gain, hope to include Diablo lake, Ross lake and possibly Chelan lake; not sure if Stehekin too hard to reach as a day trip or try overnight),not sure if I can include Mt. Baker (Artist point closed) . I hear many trails will be snowed, so will have to see what’s open. Grand alpine mountains and glacial lakes in mind. Wildflowers bonus.

We reach Seattle 7 pm June 4 rth and rent car), stay Seattle overnight or possibly drive on 2 hrs.

June 5,6,7: North Cascades, possible Mt. Baker

June 8-11 : Orcas islands reserved, ferry reserved 12:30 pm from Anacortes

June 11: return to Seattle in evening, not reserved ferry. Is there a good whale tour in Orcas or should I try routing return via San Juan Friday harbor?

I need help routing North Cascades (June 5-8) without making it too rushed.

Will have a 45 lb dog - leashed in allowed trails.
Thanks!

I hear many trails will be snowed

That's true. I am not sure your plan works well so early in June. I live in Seattle and am no expert on hiking North Cascades but pretty sure most people consider the season starting not until mid July or so.

We do a lot of hiking in the North Cascades and your plan is not doable. The trails will still be under feet of snow. IMO Stehekin is north worth just a day trip. You literally would only have a couple hours there, and most of your time would be on the boat. For such a short trip, skip it and do that when you can come back and give it the time it deserves to actually see what is there. The road to Artist Point most likely will not open at all this summer, and even in a normal year your dates are way too early. Wildflowers will not be popping up at elevation until late July and August, so again, you are way too early.

Stick to the islands for this trip

Would you suggest other areas then- Mt. Rainier or Hurricane ridge in Olympic NP?

For Mt Rainier, the Sunrise side is not open yet so you are limited to the Paradise side. The trails up at Paradise are still under feet of snow, although you could do low elevation hikes. I would spend a day there checking out places like Reflection Lake and Narada Falls, and around Longmire. Other than that, I would focus on the Olympics. There will still be snow top at Hurricane Ridge, but you can easily do the Hurricane Hill hike, which is easy and not difficult even with a bit of snow left. Then I would head over towards the coast and do the Ozette triangle and the Hoh River Trail. Ozette is 9 miles and you HAVE to time it with the tides so you are not on the beach at or near high tide. The boardwalks can be slippery and have loose or missing boards, so you do have to pay attention. There are petroglyphs on the rocks down on the beach which are interesting. At the Hoh the trail is 17 miles one way, but if you can at least go to 5 mile island, that is a good turn around, although if you can go further, the better, IME. There are other places, but this gives you an idea. Definitely do your research as the tribal lands are still closed such as second beach and Neah Bay/Cape Flattery as well as Shi Shi.

[QUOTE=mms;17246722]For Mt Rainier, the Sunrise side is not open yet so you are limited to the Paradise side. The trails up at Paradise are still under feet of snow, although you could do low elevation hikes. I would spend a day there checking out places like Reflection Lake and Narada Falls, and around Longmire. Other than that, I would focus on the Olympics. There will still be snow top at Hurricane Ridge, but you can easily do the Hurricane Hill hike, which is easy and not difficult even with a bit of snow left. Then I would head over towards the coast and do the Ozette triangle and the Hoh River Trail. Ozette is 9 miles and you HAVE to time it with the tides so you are not on the beach at or near high tide. The boardwalks can be slippery and have loose or missing boards, so you do have to pay attention. There are petroglyphs on the rocks down on the beach which are interesting. At the Hoh the trail is 17 miles one way, but if you can at least go to 5 mile island, that is a good turn around, although if you can go further, the better, IME. There are other places, but this gives you an idea. Definitely do your research as the tribal lands are still closed such as second beach and Neah Bay/Cape Flattery as well as Shi Shi.

OK. Thanks very much for the suggestions.