We had an amazing adventure on our trip to North Cascades National Park and other parts of northern Washington last year! Some of our best memories were the incredible views on the Sauk Mountain Trail and the challenging hike necessary to get to the top!
We camped for a couple of weeks at the Sauk Campground, which is only about a 20+ minute drive from Concrete, Washington, near where you’ll start this hike. You’ll drive SR-20 to Milepost 96, the Rockport State Park boundary, 7 miles east of Concrete and 1.5 miles west of the SR-530 junction. Turn north onto Forest Road 1030, drive 7.5 miles, take the right fork, and continue 0.25 mile to the trailhead (4,350 ft). There is a small pit toilet near the trailhead, so use it – you won’t have another chance until you return!
An amazing hike with incredible views
The trail winds up the side of the mountain with 26 switchbacks until you reach a point where you’ll walk around the top of the mountain to continue the trail on the east side. At that point it is relatively level as you make your way to an incredible view of Sauk Lake down below. The trail will turn back toward the west as you finish the hike at the top of the mountain. You’ll find incredible 360 degree views with amazing vistas! Mount Baker is easily visible to the west, which the awe-inspiring scenery of the North Cascades highlights the views to the east.
One thing I’ll say – take your time coming up and going back down! The trail is easy to follow, but there were several spots where erosion had left the trail fairly damaged. We had to work our way around some of these areas and it wasn’t always easy when you’re hiking on the side of a mountain – just be aware if you’re prone to dizziness or vertigo!
This is one of those “off the beaten” path hikes you’ll never forget. It’s not actually in the North Cascade National Park, but it is so work the time to get up to it and it really isn’t out of the way. We will absolutely do this hike again the next time we venture up to the Washington/Oregon area – it is definitely a “don’t miss” hike!
Here’s a link to the Washington Trail Association website with more information on the Sauk Mountain hike. Also, here’s a link to the Sauk Park Campground where we stayed while visiting the area. At the time we stayed it was only $10/night and the views and campsites were great!
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