Washington Cascades - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 310

summer there's also a staffed visitor center at Heather Meadows (mile 56, Mt Baker Hwy;
8am-4:30pm May-Sep) .
For more information about the wilderness area, contact the Mt Baker Ranger Station
(junction of Hwys 9 & 20, Sedro-Woolley) .
Getting There & Away
Mt Baker is accessed by Hwy 542 (Mt Baker Scenic Byway) from Bellingham via Kend-
all or by Baker Lake Rd, off Hwy 20 west of Concrete, which dead ends at the northern
end of Baker Lake.
Public transportation is scant and many boarders hitchhike (the usual risks apply).
When the ski area's open the Baker Bus ( 360-599-3115; www.bakerbus.org ; to Mt Baker
Ski Area from Kendall/Bellingham $9/14) runs daily from Kendall and on weekends from
Bellingham to the top of the mountain with stops in between.
HIGHWAY 20 CLOSURE
Hwy 20, the only road across the North Cascades, closes yearly between
Marblemount and Mazama due to heavy winter snowfalls. As a rule, the road is
blocked from late November to early or mid-April, though unseasonal snow has
sometimes kept it closed until June. Call 888-766-4636 for road conditions.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Upper Skagit River Valley
Tracking up through the foothills of the North Cascades, the youthful Skagit River be-
comes increasingly narrow and fast-flowing. Settlement here is thin on the ground. Blink
and you'll miss the small roadside towns of Concrete (population 712), Rockport (popu-
lation 109) and Marblemount (population 203) and, aside from a sprinkling of camp-
grounds and a couple of inns, your next decent accommodations will be in Mazama on
the other side of the mountains.
Sights
Baker Lake & Lake Shannon SCENIC LAKES