Park Creek Trail

Park Creek Trail is a remote backcountry hike in North Cascades National Park that routes you up to Park Creek Pass and then down into the Park Creek Camp area, commonly as a multi-day backpacking objective.

The route is long-distance by any normal day-hike standard; published round-trip mileage commonly lands in the ~19 to 40 miles range depending on how you set your start and finish, with elevation gain reported around ~4,900 to 6,600 feet across common through-itineraries.

From the Stehekin side, the trail climbs from the Stehekin approach toward the pass through conifer forest and switchbacks, with alpine terrain opening up near Park Creek Pass.

The approach into the pass is steep enough that hikers should be ready for sustained climbing—there are long uphill stretches with switchbacks and a final push into the subalpine just before the notch at Park Creek Pass.

Park Creek Pass is treated as fragile meadow habitat: camping is not allowed at the pass, and there are restrictions intended to protect the surrounding vegetation; when you need an overnight, you use designated camps below.

After the pass, the trail descends through meadows into the Park Creek Camp junction area (on the route continuing toward Stehekin or toward Cascade Pass and onward via the Stehekin River/upper Stehekin Valley connection).

Overnights require a backcountry permit, and the National Park Service notes camping permits for the park complex are required for all overnight stays; permits can be limited and should be planned ahead of time.

Horse access is allowed on this trail in the broader Park Creek Pass / Thunder Creek corridor, and the route involves wilderness travel concerns typical of the North Cascades (real backcountry conditions rather than a maintained day trail).

More information: Booking, Conditions, Visitor information