Mountaineers Club
North Cascades, Washington State
In summer, snowfields return to wildflowers and blueberries. Mountains are climbed without lifts, white becomes green, then yellow and red. Make it your place for hiking, scrambling, climbing, wildflowers, stargazing and photography.
Mt. Baker Lodge in the spectacular North Cascades makes an ideal base camp for some of the finest summer hiking in the Pacific Northwest.
Lake Ann, where you can “look a glacier in the eye,” or Artist Point, Table Mountain, and Chain Lakes loop trails, with sweeping views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, are on the 3 mile road to Artist’s Point. Numerous other trails are convenient day trips needing just short drives.
Sunset on Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake is a world- famous scene—and it’s just an after-dinner stroll. Bagley Lakes, and Pan Dome also are accessible without driving. Snow-play opportunities usually are abundant through the end of August.
Walks and hikes are available for all ages and abilities.
There are so many beautiful trails surrounding the Mt. Baker Lodge. They will entreat you as you capture the beauty and adventure and of this wonderful place. In fact, the 3rd Edition of “The Mountaineers, 2000″ featured over 15 of the trails in the article “100 Hikes in Washington’s North Cascades National Park Region, ” by Ira Spring & Harvey Manning.
For a list of hikes and trail conditions visit the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest webpage.
Current trail conditions are also posted outside the front door to the Glacier Public Forest Service Center. The center is open 8 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. Thursday-Monday, May 1 to mid-June and seven days a week, mid-June through September.
Come join us at Mt. Baker Lodge and enjoy the beauty of the North Cascades.
Each vehicle parked at a trail head requires a Northwest Forest Pass. Passes cost $5/day or $30/yr. and can be purchased at REI, the Glacier Public Forest Service Center(open daily mid-June through September, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) from a vending machine at the Mt. Baker ski area, at the Baker Visitor’s Center (open late July through Labor Day) and many other locations.
The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest webpage provides additional information on the passes and locations where they can be purchased.
Mt. Baker Lodge is located a short walk from the Mt. Baker Ski Area with its nine chairlifts and many downhill runs. Once winter arrives the summer terrain which was enjoyed as adventurous hiking trails turns into back country ski trails through a winter wonderland. Make it your place for back country or cross country skiing, snowshoeing, inner tubing and glorious winter photography.
Anderson Creek Road, Razorhone Road and Silver Fir Campground – Cross country ski tracks are laid by volunteer members of the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club. These three areas are at the 2,000 level and they are free of charge but club membership and donations are appreciated to help meet expenses. Parking is at the Salmon Ridge Sno-Park, 10 miles down the road from the Lodge, and a Sno-Park permit is required.
| Anderson Creek Road | 2.1 – 6.0 miles | groomed at times |
| Razorhone Road | 2.9 miles | groomed at times |
| Silver Fir Campground | 0.7 miles | groomed and tracked |
White Salmon Road – This area is generally not machine groomed for cross country skiing and is free of charge. Often an area at the junction of White Salmon Road and the highway is plowed for parking. This is not a Sno-Park and therefore a permit is not required. White Salmon Road is approximately 3.5 miles down the road from Baker Lodge (below the commercial White Salmon Day Lodge). For additional information on the above referenced routes, visit the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club website at Nooksak Nordic Ski Club. A list of some of the routes is below:
| MILES RT | ELEVATION GAIN | RATING | |
| Glacier Creek | 11 | 2,000 | easiest |
| Heliotrope Ridge | 5 | 1,400 | backcountry |
| Canyon Creek | 4 – 10 | 3,000 | most difficult |
| Wells Creek | 6 | 1,100 | most difficult |
| Twin Lakes Rd | 8 | 1,900 | more difficult |
| N. Fork Nooksak | 5 | 400 | easiest |
| Razorhone Rd | 8 | 240 | easy to difficult |
| Anderson Creek | 10 | 1,200 | easy to difficult |
| White Salmon Ck | 5 | 320 | more difficult |
| Artist Pt, Coleman Pt | 5 | 1,100 | backcountry |
| Herman Saddle | 9 | 1,100 | backcountry |
| Tomyhoi Peak | 12 | 4,500 | alpine |
| Goat Mountain | 6.2 | 2,900 | alpine |
| Ruth Mountain | 12 | 4,006 | advanced |
| Lake Ann | 8.2 | 1,900 | advanced |
| Coleman Pinnacle | 9 | 1,346 | intermediate |
| Sholes Glacier | 9 | 1,093 | intermediate |
| Chowder Ridge | 10 | 2,815 | intermediate |
| Skyline Divide | 7 | 1,500 | intermediate |
| Coleman Glacier | 9 | 4,500 | advanced |
Mt. Baker Lodge is surrounded by prime snowshoeing terrain. Some great spots to snowshoe include the area behind the lodge to the north, toward the Firs Lodge or even south of the lodge toward the Bagley Lakes area, but it doesn’t stop there. West of the ski area up toward Herman Saddle and Artist Point are great areas for snowshoeing and are within walking distance of the lodge.
The lake east of the loop road (east of Picture Lake and almost directly in front of the Firs Lodge), provides an excellent place for free, non-commercial inner tubing.
A Sno-Park permit is not needed to ski at the Mt. Baker ski area but is required if you cross-country ski at the Salmon Ridge Sno-Park on the Nooksack River (Anderson Creek Rd., Razorhorne Rd. and the Silver Fir Campground Trails).
©Mountaineers 2011 | For reservations call 206.521.6001