A river, a beach, a glacier, and lots of mountains add up to a hidden gem national park.

September 21 - 26, 2025

North Cascades National Park, WA & Oak Harbor/Whidbey Island, WA

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runneth over.” Psalm 23:5

Written by Nick

From Seattle, we traveled northeast to North Cascades National Park. The park sits just south of the Canadian border and is one of the parks I knew least about. It is also one of the least visited national parks in the country. I didn’t really have any expectations, and we all ended up totally blown away by how amazing the place is.

The North Cascades range is nicknamed ‘the American Alps,’ and for good reason. The mountains seem to stretch endlessly in all directions. It also has more glaciers than Glacier National Park and all other national parks in the U.S. combined!

*View of the Cascades from the Sahale Glacier - Stunning despite wildfire smoke in the area*

One main road runs through the middle of the park. Our first day, we drove that road, which follows the Skagit River (pronounced “Skajit.”) The river has been dammed in multiple locations to create lakes and a hydroelectric power plant.

*The blue-green Skajit River has to be one of the most beautiful rivers in the country.*

From the main highway, we drove across the top of one of the several-hundred foot dams to beautiful Diablo Lake. In the parking area, we inflated our paddleboards. From the beach, we all took turns paddleboarding out to a small island a few hundred yards out into Diablo lake. The kids swam in the 60-degree lake and we all enjoyed the 80-degree, sunny day, especially knowing summer was coming to an end.

On the drive back to our county-run campground, Peyton and Sadie dropped off Nate and me with paddleboards on the banks of the Skagit River about 7 miles upstream from our riverside campground. We had an amazing sunset float and covered the distance in about an hour and a half.

While we were there, the pink salmon were running. At one point, the entire width of the river appeared to be covered with salmon!

The evening was capped off with a wood campfire. Our campsite neighbors next to us gave us a bundle of wood, just because. We enjoyed talking to them and even shared the campfire with them one evening. It’s one small example of all the nice people we’re meeting wherever we go.

*Sadie listening to an audiobook and fishing for salmon in the Skagit River*

The next day turned out to be the highlight of North Cascades and one of the highlights of our trip so far. Some online research and talking with a park ranger revealed a popular hike to a beautiful and remote alpine location—if you are willing to drive an hour on a very rough dirt road. The ranger warned us parking was limited, and even on a weekday in the off-season, we’d need to arrive by 9 a.m. to get a spot.

We woke the kids up early and made the drive. The Super Duty handled the dirt road like a champ, and we passed numerous smaller SUVs and even a sedan that were struggling with the steep, rutted, and rough road. We claimed one of the last 10 spots in the lot and began hiking up the mountain.

Once on the trail, switchbacks took us up through a dense Sitka spruce and Douglas fir mixed forest for several miles before opening up into sub-alpine meadows and then alpine meadows. After almost 4 miles, we arrived at Cascade Pass and soaked in the beautiful views of mountains all around and valleys below.

We continued up a side trail with the goal to reach the Sahale Glacier. At 5 miles and 4,000’ of elevation gain from the parking lot, we stopped to have lunch and watch a large marmot pop in and out of its den. Nate decided five miles was far enough, so he and Peyton began slowly descending the mountain and picking wild blueberries with the plan to meet back at the pass.

Sadie and I continued on for a little over another mile and another 1000’ feet of elevation up to the glacier. The last half mile ascended a loose and rocky talus and boulder field. It was quite the workout, and I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it, but Sadie persevered! Once we got to the glacier, we threw a few snowballs, and Sadie made some snow angels. We filtered water from the glacial melt to refill for the hike down. We descended back to the pass, stopping for 10 minutes to gather half a gallon of wild blueberries from a particularly dense patch.

After we met up with Peyton and Nate, we hiked the remaining three miles downhill back to the truck. The kids both did great. One of the best parts of this trip has been watching them grow in their ability to hike and do physical activity. When we left Virginia, they could only hike a few miles, usually accompanied by much complaining. They now regularly surpass 10 miles and thousands of feet of elevation gain without blinking an eye.

Saltwater Stopover

After Cascades, we stopped for a night at the Navy base in Whidbey Island, WA. After exactly three months of traveling, we suddenly found ourselves on a saltwater coast for the first time since leaving Virginia Beach. Some of our longtime Navy friends from the Coronado days, Pat and Janelle, joined us at sunset for a campfire. It was great to catch up with them. (The campfire didn’t yield the best lighting for photos).

Ferry On

The next day we put the rig on a car ferry and took a 45-minute ride across the water to the Olympic Peninsula.

The ferry saved us several hours of driving through Friday afternoon Seattle traffic, and the cost of the fare was comparable to what we would have spent on diesel to drive around. Within a trip full of unique experiences, the ferry was yet another unique experience.

(Peyton’s note: We bought ferry tickets online, so didn’t have to pay the “Man child” fee).

Roberts on the Road

For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.

With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.

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For background info on who we are and where we’re traveling, we’d love for you to read the intro post. The full list of road trip blog posts can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!