Campground · North Cascades National Park
A single-site camp with a sheltered dock, reached only by boat.
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 tourRecorded for this area
Diablo Lake Overlook“You're coming up on Diablo Lake Overlook, a stop I'd keep even on a short drive through. The lake, wooded islands, and steep peaks spread out below you, with no hike needed for the main view.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from Hidden Cove Camp in the Parkwolf North Cascades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Hidden Cove is a backcountry campsite on Diablo Lake, listed 2.6 miles from Colonial Creek Campground. It has one site and a boat dock, so this is an overnight destination reached by water, not a road-access pullout. All Diablo Lake boat-in camping requires a backcountry permit. Bring your food and camp gear by boat.
The inlet gives the camp a sheltered landing, but Diablo Lake can be very windy and its glacial water is cold. Wind and chop can make the approach slower and harder than the calm cove suggests, so plan around your boat and the conditions.
An unmaintained path behind camp climbs to a rocky knoll with an overlook-like view of the lake. It is a quiet place to take in the cove after landing, but do not expect a maintained trail.
Diablo Lake is a reservoir created by dams in the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. Glacial meltwater keeps the lake especially cold, a detail worth remembering when you are crossing open water to reach this tucked-away campsite.
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
EasyDeer Creek Loop0.3 mi · 15 min · 0.8 mi awayA quarter-mile loop winds beside Deer Creek Shelter.
ModerateSourdough Creek Trail3.5 mi · 2.8 hr · 0.9 mi awayA forest path to Sourdough Creek Falls, with a rocky finish.
ModerateDiablo Lake Trail7.6 mi · 4.5 hr · 1 mi awayA long forest climb earns a high bridge over Diablo Lake
ModerateThunder Knob Trail3.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.4 mi awayTake the steady climb for broad views over turquoise Diablo Lake.
ChallengingFourth of July Pass via Thunder Creek10.4 mi · 7 hr · 1.8 mi awayA shady creek walk gives way to steep climbing and glacier views.
ModerateThunder Woods Nature Trail1.2 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayA short mossy loop with loose rocks where steady footing helps.
EasyThunder Creek Trail3 mi · 1.8 hr · 1.9 mi awayOld-growth cedars, turquoise water, and a handsome footbridge.
ModeratePyramid Lake Trail4.2 mi · 2.8 hr · 2 mi awaySteep miles to a tiny lake threaded with floating logs.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayDiablo Lake OverlookA quick roadside view of glacial turquoise beneath the Cascades.
Campground · 0.3 mi awayThunder Point CampA quiet three-site boat-in camp on Diablo Lake.
Campground · 0.4 mi awayBuster Brown CampA lake camp reached by water, with its own boat dock.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayNorth Cascades Environmental Learning CenterBook a program for lakeside learning, meals and trail days.
Sight · 1.4 mi awayDiablo DamA public road crosses the 389-foot dam beside Diablo Lake.
Campground · 1.4 mi awayColonial Creek North CampgroundA wooded Diablo Lake campground with an accessible pier and boat launch.
Campground · 1.5 mi awayColonial Creek South CampgroundOld-growth camping, lake access, and Thunder Creek from the south loop.
Sight · 2 mi awayRoss DamWalk a concrete dam between Ross Lake and the Skagit gorge.Parkwolf’s North Cascades ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
