The North Cascades National Park Service Complex is composed of:
- North Cascades National Park
- Ross Lake National Recreation Area
- Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
The Cascades rank among the world's great mountain ranges. Extending from Canada's Fraser River south beyond Oregon, they contribute greatly to shaping the Pacific Northwest's climate and vegetation. The North Cascades National Park Complex sits deep in wild, nearly impenetrable northernmost reaches of the Cascade Range in northwestern Washington.
Mountains do not stop at the park boundaries. Only an invisible boundary separates the two national park units from the two national recreation areas, adjoining national forest lands, and provincial park, recreation areas, and Crown lands of neighboring Canada to the north. Evidence abounds that Indians used the Cascades area, but we know little about their use, and history has touched little of the area. Forest giants of western red cedar and Douglas-fir dot the deep valleys. Off the trail, tangled growths of alder, vine maple, stinging nettles, and devil's club still defy crosscountry hikers. Glaciers scored by crevasses, permanent snowfields, and sheer-walled cliffs, spires, and pinnacles challenge mountaineers. From the North Cascades Highway, on clear days, you may catch glimpses of alpine wonders that lie just beyond.
