You’ve heard of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks–but here’s a lesser-known destination to add to your national park bucket list. North Cascades National Park celebrates its 50th anniversary today. Located about 100 miles northeast of Seattle, and stretching up to the Canadian border, it"s surrounded by two national recreation areas and other protected lands, including several national forests and wilderness areas, and by Canadian provincial parks in neighboring British Columbia. Despite all of this stunning wilderness, North Cascades National Park isn"t nearly as busy as the big-name parks, and that can be a good thing. Here you’ll find the most extensive system of glaciers in the lower 48 states—more than 300 glaciers. It’s the glaciers that lend a lovely turquoise hue to freshwater lakes, like Ouzel Lake on today’s homepage. The 500,000-acre park also boasts spectacular wildlife, alpine forests, and waterfalls. See you there?
North Cascades National Park at 50
Today in History
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Struck by Southwestern beauty
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It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball
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Boxing Day—a shopper’s delight
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There’s treasure in them thar hills
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Dog days of summer
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A theatrical dream
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Infrared Jupiter, erupting Io
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Land ho in New Zealand 250 years ago
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Cloudy with a chance of enlightenment
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Happy Easter from the ‘peeps’ at Bing
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Water colors
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3,000 years of history
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Stompin’ with the Big Chief
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What kind of bird laid these eggs?
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A sea of swirling stone
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Southern right whales sail home to South Africa
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I ll call for pen and ink
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Is that a smile?
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Feel the spray in Monterey
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Whatever floats your boat
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Old Town in Prague, Czech Republic
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Belted Galloway cows
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Cenote near Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
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Native American Heritage Day
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Great horned owl fledglings
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Eye of the cave
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Crimson-rumped toucanet in the Refugio Paz de Las Aves, Ecuador
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Mekong River Delta, Long An, Vietnam
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Floating temples in the Land of Smiles
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Happy trees = Clean air