Bridge Creek (Pacific Crest) Trail
in Washington · centroid 97 mi from Seattle
The trail drops gently, follows Bridge Creek through forested slopes, and crosses avalanche paths with mountain views. At approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) the trail enters the national park and at 2.8 miles (4.5 km) comes to a trail junction. Go left approximately 100 feet (30.5 m) for a pleasant bridge crossing of the creek.
Return via the more adventurous Stiletto Side Trail, or retrace your path. Difficulty: Moderately easy. Distance and elevation: 7 miles (11.3 km) roundtrip with 900 foot (274 m) elevation gain Access: The trailhead is at milepost 159 on State Route 20.
The parking area is located on the north side of the highway at approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Rainy Pass. A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead. Leashed dogs allowed only on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the national park.
- States
- Washington
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Seattle, WA · 97 mi · ~2.8 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 48.5048°, -120.7198°
About North Cascades National Park
This trail is inside North Cascades National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/bridge-creek-pacific-crest-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Bridge Creek (Pacific Crest) Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Thunder-Park-Bridge Cross-Park Trek
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Howard Lake Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Old Wagon Trail to Bridge Creek
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Agnes Gorge Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Stehekin River Trail
11 miles from this trail's centroid
Fisher-Thunder-Park-Cascade Cross-Park Trek
13 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.