Campground · North Cascades National Park
Three lakeside tent sites, reached by boat or trail.
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.
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“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
Rainbow Point Camp is a three-site backcountry campground on the wooded shore of Ross Lake, about 6 miles (9.6 km) from Ross Dam. It has both dock and trail access, so this is a planned overnight rather than a roadside stop. Every overnight at a Ross Lake boat-in camp requires a backcountry permit.
The campsites sit among tall trees above the water. Ross Lake's campgrounds have fire rings, picnic tables, vault toilets and bear-resistant food-storage boxes. A potable-water source isn't listed for Rainbow Point, so plan your water before setting out.
Ross Lake is a reservoir created by dams on the Skagit Hydroelectric Project. Its shoreline bends around coves, bays and islands, and Rainbow Point is one of the named camps along this backcountry waterway. Ross Lake can be very windy, so keep that in mind when planning boat travel.
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
EasyHappy Creek Forest Walk0.3 mi · 15 min · 4.9 mi awayA short boardwalk loop beside Happy Creek and old-growth trees.
ModerateHappy Creek Falls Trail2.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.9 mi awayOld sawmill relics and stepped falls reward a steep creekside climb.
Campground · 1.1 mi awayMay Creek Boat CampA single boat-in site with three-way views from a low bluff.
Campground · 1.7 mi awaySpencer’s CampTwo Ross Lake sites and a dock for a self-sufficient night.
Campground · 1.9 mi awayBig Beaver Boat CampBoat-in campsites with a gateway to Big Beaver Valley.
Campground · 1.9 mi awayMcMillan CampA three-site boat-in camp that takes planning to reach.
Campground · 2.4 mi awayRoland Point CampA remote boat-in camp tucked into a Ross Lake cove.
Campground · 2.6 mi awayDevil's Junction CampAn overnight Ross Lake camp reached by boat or trail.
Campground · 3.3 mi awayCougar Island CampTwo island campsites for a self-sufficient night on Ross Lake.
Campground · 3.6 mi awayTen Mile Island CampThree island campsites make the boat trip part of the stay.Parkwolf’s North Cascades ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
