Wilderness Information Center

Overview

About Wilderness Information Center

Why stop

A relief map and backcountry exhibits help put a trip in context.

Heads up

Limited reason to stop if you are not planning a backcountry trip.

Map

Where it is

Loading the North Cascades map

Full map

Visitor centerWilderness Information Center48.53842, -121.44811

Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

Getting permits

From State Route 20, turn onto Ranger Station Road at milepost 105.3 just west of Marblemount, then follow it 0.7 mile to the end; the office is on the right. A permit is required year-round for overnight trips in the park. The staffed center operates seasonally; during its winter closure, physical self-issue permits are available outside. Permits are limited in popular areas, so keep a backup destination in mind.

7 active North Cascades alerts

ClosureWildfire closures and Stehekin fire advisoryWildfire-related closures remain in effect; stay out of all closed trails, camps, and areas.Official details
CautionCampfires banned across the park complexCampfires and other ash-producing fires are banned throughout the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.Official details

See all 7 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

North Cascades Tour Guide

Your drive to Wilderness Information Center, narrated.

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

Recorded for this area

Before the Eagle Gets a White Head

0:00 / 0:27

“A bald eagle doesn't start life with a white head. Young birds are mostly brown, with scattered white markings, and take about five years to gain the familiar adult coloring.”

Plays on the road 1 mi from Wilderness Information Center in the Parkwolf North Cascades Tour Guide.

More about Wilderness Information Center

Plan a backcountry trip hereThe Wilderness Information Center is the National Park Service’s backcountry permit office in…

The Wilderness Information Center is the National Park Service’s backcountry permit office in Marblemount, serving North Cascades National Park and the adjacent Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas. It’s the stop to make if you need overnight trip information or a permit. If you’re not heading into the backcountry, the exhibits and relief map still make for a useful orientation, though this is a planning office rather than a scenic destination.

What’s insideThere’s an information desk, exhibits on wilderness and backcountry travel, and a relief map.

There’s an information desk, exhibits on wilderness and backcountry travel, and a relief map. The sales area carries books, maps, videos and other items about the park and nearby national forests. The site has auto parking and seasonal restrooms.

Wildlife

Wildlife in North Cascades

All North Cascades wildlife maps

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 map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across North Cascades. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.