Parking
Park at East Bank Trailhead off SR 20 near mile 139. Walk east across the highway bridge over Panther Creek and continue along the shoulder for a few minutes to the signed trail entrance; it is hard to see until close.
Overview
About Panther Creek Trail to Fourth of July Pass
Why go
- Panther Creek's whitewater and forest make the approach memorable
- Panther Camp provides a shorter creekside turnaround
Heads up
- Steep ups and downs, thick brush and nettles slow the miles
- The fast-traffic SR 20 shoulder walk is part of the access
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the North Cascades map
Full mapElevation1,804–3,648 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 Panther Creek Trail to Fourth of July Pass, 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
East Bank Trailhead: Ruby Creek and Longer Trips0:00 / 0:27
“Up ahead is East Bank Trailhead, a starting point for long forest walks and backpacking trips above Ross Lake. The full East Bank route runs thirty-one miles one way to Hozomeen, usually taking two or three days.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf North Cascades Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- How a Glacier Retreats
- The Log Beneath the Trees
- The Highway's Long Wait
- Ross Lake Overlook: A Quick View Through 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 Panther Creek Trail to Fourth of July Pass
The full hikePanther Creek Trail to Fourth of July Pass is a 13-mile out-and-back from the signed SR 20…
Panther Creek Trail to Fourth of July Pass is a 13-mile out-and-back from the signed SR 20 trailhead. The one-way route is about 6.5 miles; the mapped line is 6.68. A shorter 11.5-mile round-trip figure also appears, but its turnaround is unclear, so plan around 13 miles if you want to reach the pass and return. Allow 8–10 hours for steep ups and downs, brush and stops. The outward leg gains about 2,300 feet and loses about 500 along the way.
Find the signed startPark at East Bank Trailhead near SR 20 mile 139.
Park at East Bank Trailhead near SR 20 mile 139. Walk east over the highway bridge across Panther Creek, then follow the shoulder for a few minutes to the signed entrance; the trail is hard to spot until you are close. Traffic moves quickly, so cross carefully and walk single-file along the shoulder. This route is in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, where leashed pets are allowed. Overnight stays require a limited backcountry permit.
Down to Panther CreekThe trail climbs steeply from the road to a high knob, then drops into the forested creek…
The trail climbs steeply from the road to a high knob, then drops into the forested creek valley. Once it reaches Panther Creek, the route follows its tumbling water through a mix of small rises and dips. Panther Camp is about 3.7 miles from the trailhead, around 2,000 feet elevation, and makes a useful shorter turnaround for roughly 7.4 miles round trip. The camp was rebuilt and moved about half a mile southwest in 2012; a new bridge followed in 2013. The bridge crossing is the clearest photo stop: include some of the boulder-lined water below it.
Brush and the passBeyond camp, the trail crosses avalanche chutes where brush can be thick and stinging nettles…
Beyond camp, the trail crosses avalanche chutes where brush can be thick and stinging nettles grow among the wildflowers. It then climbs toward a broad, forested pass at about 3,600 feet. This is not an open summit: a few views open above the small Panther Potholes, while the Panther Creek side is chiefly a creek-and-forest walk. The stronger mountain views are from Fourth of July Camp beyond the pass, outside this out-and-back. Fourth of July Pass melts earlier than many nearby passes, though current snow and trail conditions still vary.
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.
