Parking
Start at High Bridge Trailhead beside the ranger station. Shuttle service reaches High Bridge from Stehekin; trailhead parking availability was not confirmed.
Overview
About Agnes Creek Trail
Why go
- Large western red cedars and a gorge-side creek walk.
- Two cascades offer shorter turnaround options.
Heads up
- The full walk to Five Mile Camp is a long, uphill day.
- Shuttle timing shapes the start and return.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North Cascades map
Full mapElevation1,594–2,244 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
7 active North Cascades alerts
- ClosureWildfire closures and Stehekin fire advisoryMentions this trailWildfire-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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
North Cascades Tour Guide
Your drive to Agnes Creek Trail, 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
High Bridge: River Gorge and Ranger Station0:00 / 0:35
“High Bridge is coming up, with the Stehekin River rushing through a rocky gorge below. Stop for the river view even if you’re not heading out on a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North Cascades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Pine's Thick Skin
- The Prospector Behind Howard Lake
- Stehekin Valley Ranch and the Cookhouse
- The Landscape Under Lake Chelan
- 83 audio storiesacross North Cascades’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mountain Goat, Black Bear, Mule Deer, and 10 more
- Works offlinemaps, 88 trails, 76 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Agnes Creek Trail
What you’re signing up forThis out-and-back follows the Pacific Crest Trail up Agnes Creek to Five Mile Camp: about 10.
This out-and-back follows the Pacific Crest Trail up Agnes Creek to Five Mile Camp: about 10.3 miles round trip, with roughly 2,100 feet of climbing. Allow most of a day; about eight hours is a sensible plan for the distance, climb, and stops. I’d pick it for a long forest walk and a look into the gorge, not for a summit or a big open view.
Cross the creek, then climbFrom High Bridge, the trail drops to Agnes Creek and crosses on a sturdy bridge.
From High Bridge, the trail drops to Agnes Creek and crosses on a sturdy bridge. Nine switchbacks gain about 300 feet into Stephen Mather Wilderness. The grade eases, but the route keeps climbing through old-growth forest above a tumbling gorge. Large western red cedars are a standout along the way.
Cascades and Five Mile CampAround the two-mile mark, the trail enters Glacier Peak Wilderness.
Around the two-mile mark, the trail enters Glacier Peak Wilderness. Heather Ridge and Trapper Creek send cascades down toward Agnes Creek; either is a good place to turn around if the full day is more than you want. Continue to Pass Creek, where a log bridge leads to Five Mile Camp. The PCT carries on into backcountry beyond the camp.
Make the day workHigh Bridge is reached from Stehekin by shuttle, so plan your start and return around the…
High Bridge is reached from Stehekin by shuttle, so plan your start and return around the service. The High Bridge Ranger Station and a picnic table are by the trailhead; toilet and water details there weren’t confirmed. The historic guard station buildings and horse corral date to 1933–34. Leashed pets are allowed on this PCT segment; keep dogs on a leash no longer than six feet.
Wildlife
Wildlife in North Cascades
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.
