Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [289]
Hotel Packwood
104 Main St., Packwood, WA 98361. ☎ 360/ 494-5431. www.packwoodwa.com. 9 units, 2 with bathroom, 7 with shared bathroom. TV. $39–$55 double. DISC, MC, V.
Two stories tall, with a wraparound porch and weathered siding, this renovated 1912 hotel looks like a classic mountain lodge even though it's right in the middle of a small town. The tiny rooms aren't for the finicky, but they are comfortable and most welcome after a day spent traipsing around on park trails. There are iron bed frames in some rooms and a fireplace in the lobby. Packwood is about 10 miles from the southeast entrance to the park. All units are nonsmoking.
Where to Dine
INSIDE THE PARK
The dining room at the National Park Inn (see "Where to Stay," above) serves American and regional dishes, including salmon, chicken, steak, and pasta at dinner, with interesting sandwiches and burgers at lunch. Lunch prices are mostly in the $8-to-$12 range; dinners run $11 to $24. We suggest beer-battered halibut and chips for lunch and slow-roasted pot roast at dinner. The restaurant does not accept reservations, and because it is the only formal dining option within the park (until the Paradise Inn reopens), you may have to wait a bit for a table. But we think the wait is worth it. For quick meals, there is fast food at the Jackson Visitor Center, and a cafeteria and grill at Sunrise Lodge.
In Ashford you'll find a place that bakes great blackberry pie, the Copper Creek Inn, 35707 Wash. 706 E. (☎ 360/ 569-2326; www.coppercreekinn.com), which is one of the closest restaurants to the park's southwest (Nisqually) entrance. It's open daily year-round, serving all three meals in summer and lunch and dinner the rest of the year. Cuisine is American Northwest, with burgers, sandwiches, and lots of salads on the lunch menu ($5.95–$9.95). The dinner menu ($13–$23) includes steak, chicken, pasta, and fish—such as grilled salmon filet with blackberry vinaigrette.
Alexander's
37515 Wash. 706 E., Ashford. ☎ 360/569-2300. Dinner reservations recommended. Main courses $5.95–$14 lunch, $8.98–$24 dinner. MC, V. Daily 8:30–10:30am and 11:30am–8pm. AMERICAN.
Alexander's, which is also a popular B&B (see "Where to Stay," above), is the best place to dine outside the Nisqually Entrance to the park. Dining outside beside the pond and waterfall is an option in the summer. Fresh pan-fried trout from the inn's pond is the dinner of choice, but you'll also find chicken, steaks, fresh salmon, stuffed pork chops, and homemade lasagna. Whatever you order, just be sure to save room for wild blackberry pie.
Mount Rainier Railroad Dining Co.
Wash. 7, Elbe. ☎ 360/569-2505. Lunch $5–$15; dinner main courses $5–$21. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Summer daily 9am–9pm; winter Mon–Fri 11am–9pm, Sat–Sun 11am–9pm. AMERICAN.
You can't miss this unusual restaurant in Elbe—just watch for the railroad cars of the adjacent Hobo Inn. Meals are basic, with steaks and fried seafood the staples of the dinner menu, but the surroundings make this place worth a stop. Seating is in an old railroad dining car. Your car won't go anywhere while you dine, but you'll get a sense of being on a rail journey.
25
NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK
by Jack Olson
THE CASCADE RANGE, IN MANY STRETCHES OF ITS SPAN, RECEIVES SIGNIFICANT visitation, but here in the northern reaches lies the largest wilderness in the state of Washington. Here, gray wolves and grizzly bears still roam, and human encroachment is limited. The North Cascades National Park Service Complex is at the heart of this region. Note the name; this is not just a park but a complex, which includes the national park as well as Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas. A 1988 act of Congress designated about 93% of the acreage of the entire complex the Stephen Mather Wilderness. Unlike many national recreation areas, both Ross Lake and Lake Chelan are wild and remote, with minimal development.
A trip into this region is a true wilderness experience. Hiking