Happy Panther Trail
in Washington · centroid 98 mi from Seattle
Happy Panther trail starts at the East Bank Trailhead and follows the Ruby Arm of Ross Lake back to the edge of the lake near the dam. The trail ends 0.1 mile (0.16 km) east of the bottom of the Ross Dam Trail access road. The forested trail crosses beautiful creeks as it cuts across the steep bank of Ruby Arm.
Difficulty: Moderately easy. Distance and elevation: 10 miles (16.1 km) roundtrip with 400 foot (120 m) elevation gain Access: The trailhead is at milepost 138 on State Route 20. Leashed dogs allowed.
- States
- Washington
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Seattle, WA · 98 mi · ~2.8 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 48.7078°, -120.9771°
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/happy-panther-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 Happy Panther 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
Devils Dome Loop
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Fourth of July Pass Trail
6 miles from this trail's centroid
Diablo Lake Trail
7 miles from this trail's centroid
The Great North Cascades Traverse
9 miles from this trail's centroid
Fisher-Thunder-Park-Cascade Cross-Park Trek
11 miles from this trail's centroid
River Loop Trail
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.