LA to North Cascades: 395/97/20 or I-5 thru Seattle?

I would suggest coming up US 97. It is a very good highway and lots of scenery and things to do. You would then come west on WA 20 to Marblemount area passing through the North Cascade Park area.
Most of the fires are down in size. Most of our smoke got washed away the last couple of days.

Dan'
I hate 5 and have not driven it in years, 395 to 31 north of Lakeview, Oregon than 97 north to 20. have a good trip.

I-5 from Olympia through North Seattle is NOT an RV'ers friend.
Traffic, lots of construction, lots of tight lanes with lots of trucks. Added to this is that it is really rough and bumpy.

Go 395/97/20. Lots more to do and see...more "country" and RV-camping like.

Dan,

If where you want to wind up is on the West side of the Cascades, then I believe the quickest route would be up (boring) I-5. I don't know a good way through Seattle, but for Portland, I would highly recommend using I-205. The difficulty will be timing both cities just right. If not a weekend, maybe Portland about 9 - 10 AM and Seattle at about Noon to 1 PM would work.

If you do go up 97 and want a place to stay in the Bend area, give me a shout.

Steve

Since you are headed up the Cascade River Rd, I assume you aren't that big of a rig. So the 'RV' friendliness of I5 through the cities isn't much of an issue.

And with Marblemount as your destination, I don't think US97 adds any speed advantage.

Google Maps says US97 to Wintrop WA20adds 80 miles and 2.5 hrs compared to I5 to WA20 (west bound). I think that's realistic. Rush hour in Seattle might cut that advantage by half a hour.

Consider I5 on the way up when time is important, and the east side on the way back.

http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/road-conditions.htm

This says the construction on the CCRR is the last 3 miles, basically access to the Cascade Pass trailhead. By that point the road is your basic forest service gravel road. Do you plan on camping at one of the main NP campgrounds like Newhallem, and drive up CCRR in the truck? The main other hiking destination on the CCRR is Hidden Lake, which has a narrower and steeper access road.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/northcascadesnationalpark/sets/72157635049191212/
are photos of the Boston Creek washout that is due to get a more permanent repair this fall.

Great tips -- thanks! DW may end up making the decision -- she does not like desert driving, even though I prefer it. Steve, thanks for the invitation! And Paul, we were hoping to camp at one of the small campgrounds on the Cascade River Road -- we have a very small trailer that can fit into lots of little spaces. There is little boondocking in that particular area, but we are going to try to find some boondocking near Mt. Baker.

And one other thing -- Paul, since you were the person responsible for turning us on to Peter Lougheed in Alberta (one of the most amazing places I have ever seen), do you know of any great day hikes to glaciers in the North Cascades? (We did the Heliotrope Ridge hike a few years ago -- absolutely fantastic.)

As much as I dislike I5, that is the route I would take if time is important.
Take the leisurely scenic road on the way back.

http://glaciers.us/south-cascade-glacier
Glaciologists have studied South Cascade Glacier for a number of years. Access is by a rough trail from the CCRR, at a point where it make a major bend and climbs toward the Cascade Pass trailhead.

The Hidden Lake trail gets you quite high, high enough to cross late season snow patches. And in Sept you'll start seeing fall colors (in the heather, etc).
http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/hidden-lake-lookout
http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/sahale-arm

Yes, there are a couple of forest service campgrounds along the CCRR.

It is easier to get to glacier around Mt Baker than in the NC Park complex. On the north side there's Heather Meadows area. On the south side is Railroad Grade.
http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/railroad-grade

On the east side of NCNP, consider Hart's Pass, the highest road access in the state. Hikes around Rainy Pass on hwy 20 are worth while (e.g. Blue Lake, Maple Pass, Lake Ann).

Besides the guide books (mainly from the Mountaineers), there are trail reviews at WTA http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/maple-pass

Since you are "bee-lining" it, Hwy 5 - exit at Arlington on Hwy 530 to Hwy 20.
The Natcoa "Fall Colors Caravan/Rally" take that route too.

I prefer Hwy 97 if the luxury of time is available.

bighatnohorse wrote:
Since you are "bee-lining" it, Hwy 5 - exit at Arlington on Hwy 530 to Hwy 20.
The Natcoa "Fall Colors Caravan/Rally" take that route too.

I prefer Hwy 97 if the luxury of time is available.

YEP in a hurry, I-5.
97 to Pateros 153 to Twisp, and 20 over the hill is a beautiful drive. but a very hard pull for 15 miles out of Winthrop, then a brake smoker down hill to Newhalem. then its just a crooked 2 lane road to I-5. But it is pretty.

Actually you can leave 5 at Weed, 97 to 82 to 90, then 405 to 5 to Arlington, then 530 to 20 west to Marblemount. That way brings you thru several windy canyons and several passes that could be a challenge to the truck.