Campground · North Cascades National Park
Four boat-in sites on a quiet island in Ross Lake.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
North Cascades Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for North Cascades National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the North Cascades audio tour“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Cat Island is a small boat-in campground on Ross Lake, with four sites and a boat dock. Its quiet, remote setting suits a planned overnight on the water; it is not a quick roadside stop. The camp lies 13 miles from Ross Dam and 9 miles from Hozomeen.
Getting here means coming by boat. All Ross Lake boat-in camps require a backcountry permit, and the lake can be very windy. Allow for conditions on the water, and carry drinking water, food and the supplies you need. The camp is reported to have tent platforms, picnic tables and bear boxes, but no drinking-water source was verified.
Ross Lake is a reservoir created by dams in the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. Cat Island sits among its coves and wooded shores, making the water setting part of the overnight rather than just the way in.
Wildlife
101 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
70 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
20 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
77 sightingsSooty GrouseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
23 sightingsWhite-tailed PtarmiganMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
75 sightingsWestern ToadMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across North Cascades. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingLightning Creek Trail to Willow Lake8 mi · 6 hr · 0.9 mi awayA steep climb opens into the quiet Lightning Creek valley.
ChallengingDesolation Peak Trail9.4 mi · 7.5 hr · 0.9 mi awayA steep climb to Kerouac’s historic fire lookout
ChallengingLittle Beaver Trail32.4 mi · 22 hr · 2.8 mi awayA long valley trail climbs to a rugged backcountry pass.
Campground · 0.9 mi awayLightning Creek Boat CampFive campsites on Ross Lake, reached by boat or trail.
Campground · 1.2 mi awayLightning Creek Stock CampA two-site Ross Lake camp reached by boat or a long hike.
Campground · 1.7 mi awayLodgepole CampA remote Ross Lake camp reached by boat, with trail access.
Campground · 2 mi awayPonderosa CampA two-site boat-in camp on Ross Lake's wooded shore.Sight · 2.1 mi awayDesolation Peak LookoutKerouac’s 1956 lookout crowns a steep climb above Ross Lake.
Campground · 2.1 mi awayDry Creek CampA four-site Ross Lake camp reached only by boat
Campground · 2.6 mi awayTen Mile Island CampThree island campsites make the boat trip part of the stay.
Campground · 2.7 mi awayLittle Beaver Boat CampA quiet boat-in base on Ross Lake.Parkwolf’s North Cascades ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
