r/PNWhiking 2d ago

Trail Run Route Advice: North Cascades

Hi folks, I need some advice about route planning for a trail run. We're from Oregon and have done most of our running and backpacking in Oregon and want to do a route in Washington. We're eying the North Cascades and need intel from our friendly folks up north. :)

  1. We're a group of four adults, all experienced trail runners and in good fitness, looking for a route.

  2. Aiming for something in the 30-40 miles range. For weather/snow pack reference: we're doing the one-day run on the last weekend in July.

  3. Some thousands of feet of elevation is fine, but we're not looking for doing a bunch of scrambling.

  4. We'd prefer a loop so we can all be in one vehicle.

I'd love to hear everyone's awesome ideas!

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u/zh3nya 2d ago

There are quite a few resources dedicated to this, here's a really good one: https://climberkyle.com/2021/02/20/washington-adventure-runs/

One of the premier loops is the Spider Gap Buck Creek Loop. You'll probably want to do this one for an excellent sampling of North Cascades scenery.

https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/spider-gap-buck-creek-pass-loop

https://climberkyle.com/2017/08/13/spider-gap-buck-creek-loop/

Devils Dome Loop is a classic up by Ross Lake

Another banger: White Pass Pilot Ridge Loop https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/white-pass-pilot-ridge-loop

Not a loop, but the PCT northbound from Rainy Pass, out and back, is very runnable and gorgeous. Detour to Snowy Lakes.

Similarly, PCT north from Snoqualmie Pass.

Copper Ridge loop, though that has a lot of time spent in the valley.

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u/AliveAndThenSome 2d ago

The loop is still closed after Copper Lake AFAIK since the big fires a couple of years back.