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A Weekend Backpacking Trip on the Big Beaver Trail to 39 Mile Camp in the North Cascades


The Big Beaver trail is one of the premier trails in North Cascades National Park that meanders through the valleys of the cascades. It's a relatively flat trail with amazing views of Ross Lake and peaceful forests.


The full Big Beaver trail can be a multi-day in-and-out trek. However, like many of you, I have a 9-to-5 job, and I wanted to get this done in a single weekend. I chose 39 Mile Camp (which is only 12 miles away from the trailhead) as a turnaround point.


Did you know you can experience this trail during wintertime too? Check it out here.

 

Contents

 

Adventure Stats

Hiked in August 2022

Weather: 85F/56F partly cloudy / sunny

Popularity: Extremely low, few hikers beyond Ross Dam

Route Finding: Easy, off-trail navigation unnecessary

Trail Hazards: None

Bug Pressure: None

Key Sights: Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, dam, suspension bridge, snow, forest

Nights: 1

Group Size: 2

Rating: 6/10 - Read my closing thoughts to find out why.

 

The Route

Distance: 23.5 miles out-and-back

Elevation: + 1286ft/-1599ft

Location: North Cascades National Park

Direct Link to Trailhead: Google Maps


Here's the hike:

A map of the Ross Lake National Recreation Area with a route marked in red between Ross Dam and 39 Mile Camp
Big Beaver Trail to 39 Mile Camp Route marked in red
Route statistics including elevation, slope, aspect, tree cover, and land cover
Terrain Stats (one-way)
 

Trip Report

This was my only backpacking trip all month since I had gotten sick. I was excited to jump back into it but nervous that I hadn't quite bounced back to peak performance. The Big Beaver Trail in the North Cascades ended up being a great re-introduction into backpacking since the grade was very gentle.


Because this was an overnight trip, we stopped at the Marblemount Wilderness Information Center to pick up a permit. This was a slow weekend so we didn't arrive to the Wilderness Information Center until a little after noon. To our surprise, we learned from the park rangers that North Cascades National Park will release your reservations to walk-ins after 11am. Luckily, no one had snagged our reservation in the meantime, and the rangers were able to re-book us for the permit.

A hydroelectric dam with a lake on the right. A boathouse sits on the lake. The dam and lake are surrounded by mountains and forest.
Ross Dam! It's currently listed as the 15th tallest dam in the United States

The trail begins with a mile-long descent from the trailhead down to Ross Lake Dam. I was humbled to hike across one of Washington State's many sources of clean, renewable energy. The first half of the trail hugged Ross Lake, then followed one of its tributaries for the second half.

A pond in a marsh surrounded by forest. In the background are rolling hills in the Cascade Mountains
One of the marshy ponds you'll spot along the way

The trail had a relatively gentle grade, and no unexpected obstructions. Because the trail had plentiful tree coverage and very few mosquitos, we found that sunscreen and bug spray were unnecessary.

Soft glow of sunlight casting on a trail in the forest
Just a beautiful stroll through the forest

We camped at 39 Mile Camp. We could hear the tributary running all night, but the camp wasn't positioned for a waterside view. The campground was not particularly busy, only one other site was occupied when we got there.


 

Closing Thoughts - 6/10

Overall the route was gentle but didn't lead to a particularly spectacular vantage point. It ended up being an awesome route to reconnect with nature after a few weeks of being de-commissioned.


After doing further research on the trail, it may also be possible to accomplish the full Big Beaver trail as a point-to-point route in a single weekend if you charter the Ross Lake Water Taxi. I'll be back to check this out some day!


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Hi There!

original_22bc0d3b-02d3-4581-b2c1-6c7fc0507f6d_PXL_20230212_002254642.MP~2.jpg

I'm Sarah, and I'm a backpacker based out of Washington State.

 

I started this blog in 2022 to share the best hiker-oriented destinations for others to enjoy one weekend at a time.

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