NORTHERN CASCADES LOOP ADVICE
 

DH & I will be returning from Vancouver to Seattle via the Northern Cascades this coming Thursday or Friday (9/12 or 9/13). Had originally thought of doing the Cascades Loop south of the border (Rt. 20 to 97 to 2) but then it was suggested that we head east out of Vancouver on the TC Hwy, then connect to BC Hwy 3 at Hope, and follow BC 3 to Osoyoos, then take US 97 down to Wenatchee, then back across Stevens Pass (US 2.) Can anyone who has done both loops comment on the pros & cons of each? We both love the mountains plus Sept 12 is DH birthday.

I haven't done the loops but I have done parts of the two trips you are thinking of taking. I've been on the N. Cascades Hwy (rt 20) through the N. Cascades National Park and it is spectacular. There are glacial lakes short walks off the road and sheer glacial mountains.

I have also driven from Vancouver to Hope BC on the way to Whistler. It is beautiful but does not compare the the N. Cascades National Park, in my opinion.

Excuse me. We were on our way to Banff not Whistler! It's past my bedtime!

I have done both these trips several times, and they both have their charms.

The main difference is that driving the Canadian route, you will pass through the beautiful Okanogan Valley but you will miss the North Cascades Highway (Rt 20 in WA) and the Methow Valley, which is one of my favorite places in WA.

Driving is slower in Canada. Check driving times at google.maps.com or a similar site.

If you have had your heart set on driving what most folks are talking about when they say "Cascade Loop," you will have to do the drive south of the border.

Whichever route you pick, drive south on 97 Alt., which follows the west side of the Columbia River.

I would not miss Hwy 20 in one direction or the other--it's spectacular.

I think it was me that recommended BC Hwy 3. Hopefully others can chime in.

The good scenery on BC 3 eastbound comes after Hope; Hope is the equivalent of North Bend on I-90 in Washington, or possibly Monroe or Gold Bar in the case of US 2, i.e., the western foothills of the Cascades. Like all of the trans-Cascades highways, the TCH follows river valleys as far as possible in order to keep the elevation low; that's why it hangs a left at Hope - to stay on the Fraser River as long as possible.

You can't really go wrong either way, and the weather for this weekend is supposed to be spectacular throughout the region.

My own take is that eastbound on SR 20 (N. Cascades hwy) is actually rather tedious and boring until you get close to Ross Lake (big Seattle City Light dam complex) after which it's very scenic, but for a relatively short period, until you hit the Methow Valley, which is scenic but not especially alpine.

BC 3 has some, albeit fewer "ooh ah" moments than SR 20, but (strictly IMO) a higher overall average of good scenery. It goes through Manning Provincial Park in lieu of a national park on the Canadian side (different standards of allowed development) but it's the same mountains.

US 2 has the advantage of quicker alpine scenery when approaching from the east than either BC 3 or SR 20 has approaching from the west. On US 2, you go through Cashmere (a rather cute old fashioned town) and Leavenworth, a faux Bavarian village with an awful lot of yodel-ay-hee-hoo kitsch, then bang, you're in great mountain scenery, so much more entertaining than the long drive up the river valleys when coming from the west.

We went up the Nooksack Valley to Mt. Baker two days ago and there was some autumn color at the higher elevations or in exposed areas (vine maple mostly) so any route over the mountains this weekend ought to be getting good. There are lots of fruit and berry stands (blueberries now in full run) at the moment; perhaps it's a personal preference but I like BC 3 partly because it's more populated (real, not tourist towns) than SR 20, thus more interesting places to stop. Plus, I think the run on US 97 down the Okonogan River is very scenic and interesting this time of year.

But as I said, you really can't go wrong regardless of route.

Thank you everyone for your replies. We've now completed the loop & here's what we did ... we originally had planned to drive from Vancouver to get to the Cascades Loop but after talking with a few people, became convinced we needed to see Whistler first. The Sea to Sky Highway was very pretty & for that we are glad but now after seeing the Northern Cascades, I think we could have not seen Whistler & been just as happy (hindsight is always 20-20). However, DH is happy that we saw Whistler, including the gondola/chair lift to the top of the mountain.

From Whistler we drove to Abbotsford & then crossed the border into Sumas. Rather than taking Rt. 9 South, we took Rt. 547 & connected onto 542. I did not know this was the Noonsack Valley that Gardyloo had mentioned until after we got on the road. It was one of the most stunning drives I've been on in a long time. We had crystal clear weather & the view of Mt. Baker at Artist's Point was very clear with no clouds. Mt. Baker & the mountains surrounding it were beautiful.

We drove back out on Rt. 542 & then connected to Rt. 9 & then Rt. 20. Because we got a late start from Whistler (9:30am), didn't start the drive on Rt. 20 until 5:30pm. We made good time driving 50-60 mph on a somewhat boring part of Rt. 20 but just before the Diablo Dam area saw what made this road so popular. The mountains were huge and the warm color of the setting sun was making them light up spectacularly. As we drove on & the sun went down, the mountains turned orange & we thought it doesn't get much better than this but knew we still had a drive ahead of us. The sun continued setting & the mountains took on an Ansel Adams look (grey & black). Finally, the icing on the cake was when we turned a bend in the road & there peaking out from behind a black mountain was the nearly full moon. Yes, we missed seeing some of the mountains with the sun on them but felt we saw them in all possible light variations. Having a pre-made reservation in Winthrop caused us to push on when we might have spent the night near Sedro-Woolley but we wouldn't have seen all the colors of the mountains that we did.

This morning we left Winthrop, stopped at the farmer's market in Twisp then chose to continue on Rt. 20 rather than take Rt. 153 south. However, west of Okanogan, we took a smaller road through Malott & were blown away by all the fruit trees we saw for miles & miles. Wow the mountains or hills from Winthrop on were such a sharp contrast to what we had seen yesterday near Mt. Baker & then on Rt. 20 between Sedro-Woolley & Wintrop. Their dry, golden color reminded us of parts of Tuscany.

We got on 97 Alt & then connected to Rt. 2. Leavenworth was a bit to cutsey for DH so we pushed on, plus it was still early afternoon. Although Rt. 2 was pretty it was a bit of a let down after the splendor of the mountains on Rt. 20. I think we had expected to see similar views but have no regrets because with the Sea to Sky Hwy to Whistler, Rt. 542 to Mt. Baker, Rt. 20 & then Rt. 2, we saw many beautiful mountains in all their splendor.

We are now spending the night in Monroe & have all day tomorrow (9/14) to take a hike somewhere on the western side of the Cascade Range. If anyone is on line tonight & has any recommendations for a 4-5 hour hike which is somewhat moderate, please let me know.

Thank you all for your input. It was a great help. This trip has given us a taste of what we can expect when we return. Stay tuned for a report of the full trip after we return to Vermont.

Thanks for the report. You made a wise choice on your routing and saw the max in your limited time.

You are near Wallace Falls, which is a popular day hike. It's easy to find--ask at your hotel, a gas station, whatever.

HTTY

I agree, Wallace Falls fits in nicely with your plans.

debl ~ you are staying in my hometown, how do you like it? (I know, traffic is horrific!)

Wallace Falls is a nice hike. There is also Bridalveil Falls & Lake Serene:
http://filbytheboss.blogspot.com/200...idal-veil.html

Have fun,
Serendipity42

I want to add that althought the hike past Bridalveil Falls to Lake Serene is quite steep, the hike to the falls itself is not bad. Wallace Falls is a bit of a climb but this out of shape lady made it fine at a slow pace <G> The falls are definitely worth the effort.

Serendipity42