Northern Cascades, Washington

"Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before." – Dalai Lama

This was our first trip to the Pacific Northwest and we absolutely fell in love with Seattle and the surrounding Northern Cascades. Hidden Lake Lookout is a 7.5-mile out-and-back trail with over 3K ft in elevation gain near Marblemount, Washington. It is a well-maintained trail with everything you could want. Forest, meadows, rocky cliffs, and lakes. To get to the parking lot you need a travel 3-4 miles on a very uneven one-lane road so plan to arrive early to avoid other vehicles. Make sure to have a high-clearance vehicle, we had an SUV and made it up okay. The 360-degree vistas of the surrounding Cascades at the lookout are breathtaking.