Sight · North Cascades National Park
Climb into an old steam engine and ring its brass bell.
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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 place
Historic Newhalem: Fudge, a Steam Engine and Cedars“You're coming up on historic Newhalem, a company town built for the Skagit hydroelectric project. Make this a stop for a treat and a wander.”
Plays as you drive up to Old Number Six Locomotive 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
Old Number Six is a restored Baldwin steam locomotive displayed beside the Skagit General Store in Newhalem, just off State Route 20. You can climb into the cab and ring its brass bell. It is a quick, hands-on stop rather than a train ride.
Seattle City Light built the Skagit River Railway to move construction materials, equipment and workers for its hydroelectric project. The line ran 23 miles from Rockport to Newhalem and later extended to Diablo. It also carried tourists starting in 1924; the railway was removed in 1954, ending the locomotive's service.
The engine stands beside the Skagit General Store, which sells drinks, snacks, picnic supplies and house-made fudge. Restrooms, picnic tables and a playground are nearby, so it is easy to pair a look at the locomotive with a short stop in town.
The numbered smokebox, cab and Seattle City Light tender are all worth a closer look. For a photo, frame the front bell and number plate, then step back to fit the whole engine and tender in the picture.
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
EasyTrail of the Cedars Nature Walk0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.1 mi awayCross the suspension bridge for an easy old-growth river loop.
EasyLadder Creek Falls Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 0.2 mi awayA half-mile waterfall loop with a hydroelectric past.
EasyRock Shelter Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 0.5 mi awayA short accessible walk to a 1,400-year-old hunting camp.
EasyLower Newhalem Creek Trail0.6 mi · 30 min · 0.5 mi awayCreekside walk to a cedar glade still finding its way back.
EasyTo Know a Tree Nature Trail1 mi · 45 min · 0.7 mi awayTree signs turn this easy riverside walk into a small nature lesson.
EasyRiver Loop Trail1.8 mi · 45 min · 1 mi awayA forest loop to a gravel bar with broad Skagit River views.
EasySterling Munro Trail0.2 mi · 12 min · 1.1 mi awayA brief wooden walk opens onto a Picket Range viewpoint.
EasyGorge Overlook Trail0.5 mi · 45 min · 2.5 mi awayA short loop with a lake, a dam and a waterfall view.
Store · At the trailheadSkagit General StoreA working 1922 company store with fudge and camp supplies.
Visitor center · At the trailheadSkagit Information CenterHydroelectric history and local help on the road through Newhalem.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayGorge InnA 1925 cookhouse puts the Skagit dams' human story on display.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayTemple of PowerA gazebo built from hardware that once helped power Seattle.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayRoss CryptA short memorial to J.D. Ross, the man behind Seattle’s Skagit Project.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayGorge Powerhouse Visitor GallerySee the Skagit Project’s generators from inside the powerhouse.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayNewhalem Creek PowerhouseA 1921 powerhouse that helped build Newhalem and Gorge Dam.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayLadder Creek FallsA short falls loop with gardens and a night light show.Parkwolf’s North Cascades ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
