Just off the Pacific Crest Trail in North Cascades National Park, Five Mile Camp sits in forested terrain near a creek that provides easy water access. The camp is free but requires a permit from the NOCA Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount, and the access road is rough. No pets are allowed. A privy, fire pits, a group cooking area, and a bear wire for food storage are all on-site. The entry sign can be hard to spot, so watch carefully. Visitors in late summer should expect flies. Among the places to camp around North Cascades National Park, this one tends to work best for small to medium groups moving through on foot.
Description
From Park Creek Pass, the Park Creek Trail descends quickly through heather and wildflower meadows into a hanging valley and then down again into willowy meadows just before reach Five Mile Camp. Look back for final views of Buckner and its hanging glaciers. The trail heads into the forest and shortly arrives at Five Mile Camp, a creek-side stock camp. Contouring down the forested slopes of Park Creek Valley, the trail passes one more camp, small Two Mile, just after crossing Park Creek on an improved log crossing. The floods of 2003 re-arranged this camp significantly, leaving only the one small site. The trail drops steeply once more, through a forest that now includes big leaf and vine maple, before leveling out and intersecting the Upper Stehekin Valley Trail (the old Stehekin Valley Road, which was washed out by floods in 1995, 2003, and 2006 before the upper stretch was finally closed). Park Creek Camp sits at this junction. From here, parties can head west following the Stehekin River up and over Cascade Pass, or turn east to head toward Stehekin or Bridge Creek. High Bridge, which is the turn-around point for the Stehekin Valley shuttle bus, is a 7.5 mile (12 km), mostly flat walk.
RV Road Trip Guides
Map & DirectionsFive Mile Camp is located in Washington near Stehekin
Coordinates
48.4645163 N
120.9414759 W
Connectivity
T-MobileNo Coverage- VerizonNo Coverage
- AT&TNo Coverage
Connectivity
- T-MobileNo Coverage
- VerizonNo Coverage
- AT&TNo Coverage
Access
Features
Drive Time
- 2 hrs 20 min from Wenatchee, WA
- 4 hrs 35 min from Seattle, WA
- 5 hrs 12 min from Mount Vernon, WA
- 5 hrs 36 min from Bellingham, WA
