Parking
Park at Ross Dam Trailhead, walk 0.7 mile to Ross Lake Resort, and take its water taxi to Little Beaver Dock. There is no shoreline trail to the dock; confirm current boat service before setting out.
Overview
About Little Beaver Trail
Why go
- Old-growth valley and high-pass views
- Several camps make a staged backpack possible
Heads up
- Boat access and overnight permits add planning
- Unmaintained brush and creek crossings can slow the route
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North Cascades map
Full mapElevation1,706–5,243 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Little Beaver 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- Hozomeen Campground and Hozomeen Lake
- 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 Little Beaver Trail
The trip you are choosingLittle Beaver Trail is a remote out-and-back from Ross Lake’s Little Beaver Dock to Whatcom…
Little Beaver Trail is a remote out-and-back from Ross Lake’s Little Beaver Dock to Whatcom Pass. The path to the pass is about 16.2 miles one way, so retracing it makes a 32.4-mile round trip. Allow about 22 hours of hiking time, normally split across several days; this is a backcountry trip, not a day hike. Whatcom Camp lies beyond the pass if you want to extend the walk.
Through the Little Beaver valleyFrom the dock, the trail climbs through cedar and fir forest beside Little Beaver Creek, with…
From the dock, the trail climbs through cedar and fir forest beside Little Beaver Creek, with brushy meadows and several creek crossings along the way. Perry Creek Camp is about 4.6 miles in. Roughly 5.8 miles farther, the Big Beaver Trail branches south; stay on Little Beaver as it continues west. Twin Rocks Camp is about 3.6 miles beyond that junction. Past Twin Rocks, the climb steepens and brush can hide the tread before switchbacks rise toward the pass.
The high passNear the last climb, waterfalls run down cliffs to the south, with Mount Challenger and Whatcom…
Near the last climb, waterfalls run down cliffs to the south, with Mount Challenger and Whatcom Peak on the skyline. At Whatcom Pass, the view opens onto the jagged North Cascades, including Whatcom and Easy Peaks. For a photo, frame the deep forested valley between the pass’s steep rocky sides; the valley looks much deeper with the ridges in the shot.
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.
