The Stehekin Landing, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

“No, you can’t drive all the way to Stehekin,” I told someone who thought there was a road all the way out to this isolated lakeside enclave of approximately 95 full-time residents. You can fly (a sea plane), boat, or backpack a gazillion miles (ok, more like 23 miles – give or take – from Highway 20), but you can’t drive all the way there.

What is it about this place that appeals? No working cell or internet service (the inhabitants use satellite internet), no bank, dentist or doctor office. Everything, from vehicles to building materials to groceries that can’t be purchased in the North Cascades Lodge’s General Store gets barged in once a week, or goes on the passenger ferry. Yet, every local I chatted with can’t think of anywhere else they’d rather live. In truth, Stehekin *is* a paradise surrounded by streams, rivers, and rugged peaks laced with backcountry trails for the serious backpacker or horse rider and a smattering of shorter trails accessible via long walks or the cost of the local shuttle service. There’s a bakery (The Stehekin Pastry Company) 2 miles up the road from the North Cascades Lodge that creates food perfect for locals, hungry hikers, and day-trippers. The lemon bars are to die for, the mountain bars are a close second (for me), and the cinnamon and sticky buns are HUGE. Pizzas, sandwiches, soups, and salads are also on the menu, all washed down with good coffee. Oh, and did I mention the great photo ops?

Let’s say you’ve got 3 days to spend in Stehekin. How do you get there, where do you stay, and what can you do?

As mentioned in the first paragraph, you have the choice of hiking, flying, or boating in. I booked passage on the Lady Of The Lake II, but could have opted for the faster, 2-hour trip, on the Lady Express. To read more about this travel option, go to this website https://ladyofthelake.com/ .

Lady Of The Lake, Lake Chelan / The Stehekin Landing, Lake Chelan / Rebecca Latson

The view from inside the ferry / Rebecca Latson

Parasailing on Lake Chelan / Rebecca Latson

A Google search brought up several seaplane options. Chelan Seaplanes offers flights to Stehekin but according to their website, it looks like they won’t be up and running until sometime in 2020.  Northwest Seaplanes offers charter flights departing from Seattle.

If you decide to hike, you’ll start at Highway 20 and follow the trail to High Bridge, then catch the Red Bus Shuttle for the 11-mile ride into Stehekin.

Once you have arrived via the Landing (the collective name for the public boat dock, lodge and lodge buildings, shuttle staging area and visitor center), where should you stay? Stehekin is small, but an internet search produced the North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin, a concessionaire associated with the National Park Service, and a list of lodging options found at Stehekin.com. There are also a number of camping options in and around Stehekin. All camping except for lakeside sites requires a backcountry permit.

A Harlequin Campground campsite, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Just as you would for any other national park lodging, you should make your reservations as far in advance of your trip as possible. My North Cascades Lodge Swissmont room was basic, clean and comfortable, with a lake view from the patio.

Swissmont room interior, North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

The view outside the window, North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

No television or phones, and no cell service or internet, either, except for limited internet on the deck, restaurant and Sun Room. If you need to make a call, there is a community satellite pay phone near the boat dock.

Once you have arrived and are all settled in, there is plenty to do during your 3-day stay.

Day 1: Check out the Golden West Visitor Center just up the hill from the North Cascades Lodge. Take a look at the large relief map in the left corner of the lobby and make sure to pick up a red bus shuttle schedule and Stehekin Hike Sampler page with the list of the more popular hikes on one side and a map of the area and shuttle stops on the other side. To stretch your legs, you can try the short (0.8 mile) Imus Creek Trail starting outside of the visitor center, or the nearby Lakeshore Trail following the east shoreline of Lake Chelan.

The Golden West Visitor Center, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Inside the visitor center lobby, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

The Landing and view uplake, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Stehekin and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area map, North Cascades Complex / NPS

If you don’t feel like tackling a trail just yet, then build up an appetite walking 2 miles along the paved Stehekin Valley Road to the Stehekin Pastry Company, where you can purchase one of those luscious lemon bars I mentioned earlier. There are tables inside and outside, or you can take your food to go back to your room. Just remember to leave your backpack outside with all the others’ packs while you shop for goodies. Yes, I’m serious. Nobody will take your pack – theirs’ is already heavy enough as it is.

A promise of tasty goodies, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Stop and soak in the beauty of Lake Chelan. There’s a lovely little spot for meditation just off the road on the lakeside. You’ll see a large wooden cross and several wooden benches. Move past the benches toward the lake, and you’ll see an inviting seat just waiting for you to sit a spell while watching the clouds over the mountains downlake.

Lake Chelan landscape, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

A spot to sit and meditate, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Stop at The Garden located a half mile down the road from the bakery, on your way back to the Landing, for maple syrup, raw honey, fresh fruits and veggies, or goat cheese and yogurt.

If you don’t feel like walking to the bakery that day, then why not rent a mountain bike or e-bike to tour further along the Stehekin Valley Road, or rent a kayak, canoe, or paddle boat to explore Lake Chelan.

Relax that evening with dinner (the salmon is tasty) in the restaurant at the North Cascades Lodge (reservations may be made at the reservations desk inside the General Store) or enjoy the pastries and pizza you brought back from the bakery, washed down with the beer, wine, cider or soda purchased from the Lodge’s General Store.

Day 2: Take a half-day or full day trail ride at Stehekin Valley Ranch. If you don’t feel up to any horseback riding, then walk 3-1/2 miles or rent a bike and ride to Rainbow Falls or take the shuttle bus for the official Rainbow Falls Tour. The tours leave for the falls twice daily, coinciding with the arrival of the Lady Express and the Lady of the Lake II ferries.

Rainbow Falls, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

After a visit to Rainbow Falls, you might feel like walking or riding your rental bike along the Stehekin Valley Road to Buckner Lane and take a walking tour of the Buckner Orchard, managed by the National Park Service as a historic site.

Day 3: Pack a snack or lunch, take plenty of water, and ride the Red Bus Shuttle 11 miles to High Bridge (the turnaround point for the shuttle), where you can cross the bridge from Lake Chelan National Recreation Area into North Cascades National Park. Just before you cross the bridge, take the side trail to the right of the North Cascades National Park sign down toward the clear, aquamarine waters of the Stehekin River. Practice your photography skills capturing “silky water” shots. Who knows, you might even get “buzzed” by a little hummingbird hovering around you while figuring out whether you are a big flower (especially if you wear a neon-orange floppy hat, like I did).

The author on High Bridge, North Cascades National Park, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

A "wild river," North Cascades National Park, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

High Bridge And The Stehekin River, North Cascades National Park, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

The Stehekin River at High Bridge, North Cascades National Park, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Hike part of the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) or explore the Agnes Gorge or Howard Lake trails. Capture a few “leading line” images of the trail. When you look at that photo later, you’ll remember the adventure on which that trail led you.

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), North Cascades National Park, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

While waiting for the return shuttle, sit at the picnic table or on one of the large logs in front of the High Bridge cabin or enjoy a view of the frothy river below from the smooth log bench across the road while eating a snack.

Take time to visit with the hikers. Ask them where they’ve been and where they are going. Listen to them discuss amongst each other the merits of various trail foods (tortillas, ramen, and banana chips with almond butter were popular among the group with whom I chatted). I grinned as a couple of them told me that something always hurt when they got up for another day of distance, and eventually they got used to that sore knee or ankle or toe and considered it part and parcel of the experience, with each new hurt taking their mind off of the previous hurt. I found myself a little envious of their stamina and strength; they hefted with ease those huge packs, complete with sleeping pad, tent, food, and everything else they’d need for several weeks of backcountry hiking. One young man I spoke with on the bus to the bakery told me he had hiked the PCT starting at the Canadian border and would follow it all the way to Mexico, which he figured might take him 5-6 months. Wow!

Stehekin, itself, is small, but it’s surrounded by some big landscape with enough sights and activities to keep you busy even if, like me, you are not a backpacker. Take some clothing, snacks, water bottle, camera, and a sense of adventure for 3 days in this spot within the North Cascades Complex.

Bye-bye, Stehekin, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades Complex / Rebecca Latson

Traveler's Note: Due to the 2024 Pioneer Fire next to Stehekin, there are several trail closures remaining in effect until further notice. To check out these and other fire closures within the North Cascades National Park Complex, click here.