Parking
Park at the Happy Creek Trailhead on the south side of State Route 20 at milepost 134.3, just east of Ross Dam Trailhead. An accessible vault/composting toilet is listed at the trailhead.
Overview
About Happy Creek Forest Walk
Why go
- Mostly boardwalk through a very gentle forest loop
- Happy Creek borders the southern half
Heads up
- Very short if you want a substantial hike
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North Cascades map
Full mapElevation2,159–2,207 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
North Cascades Tour Guide
Your drive to Happy Creek Forest Walk, 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
Happy Creek: Short Forest Loop or Falls Hike0:00 / 0:25
“Happy Creek Forest Walk is coming up, a good choice for a short break among old-growth trees. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes for the gentle, wheelchair-accessible loop, mostly on boardwalk beside the creek.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North Cascades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Ross Dam and the Floating Resort
- Ross Lake Overlook: A Quick View Through the Trees
- A Squirrel's Cone Store
- The Log Beneath the Trees
- 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 Happy Creek Forest Walk
A short old-growth loopHappy Creek Forest Walk is a 0.
Happy Creek Forest Walk is a 0.3-mile loop from the Happy Creek Trailhead on the south side of State Route 20. It winds through old-growth forest on mostly boardwalk, with a short gravel section. This is a good quick break from the highway if you want an easy, accessible forest walk; allow 15 to 20 minutes with a pause by the creek. It is too short to count as a substantial hike.
Along Happy CreekThe boardwalk follows the southern half of the loop beside Happy Creek; the return has more…
The boardwalk follows the southern half of the loop beside Happy Creek; the return has more gravel. The grade is shallow, and the whole loop is described as accessible. The wooden boards can be slick when wet, snowy, or icy. Leashed pets are allowed in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, with a leash no longer than six feet.
Keep the falls spur separateA much longer and steeper spur to Happy Creek Falls starts from the same access.
A much longer and steeper spur to Happy Creek Falls starts from the same access. It is a different walk, not an extension of this 0.3-mile loop. Published distances for the falls route differ, so check that route separately if you want to continue uphill.
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.
