North Cascades Institute - Connecting people, nature, and community since 1986

There’s a moment every fall in the North Cascades when the mountains seem to light up, not with red or orange leaves, but with gold. And if you’re hiking among those glowing trees, you might notice something strange: they look like evergreens, but they’re turning yellow.

Welcome to larch season!

Sep 30, 2026Special Guest

I had long heard of the legendary beauty of Cascade Pass when Marjorie and I finally had the opportunity to hike up to it in September 2022, …
Read More of In the Range of Fire & Ice: Peopling the Passes

Sep 24, 2026Special Guest

Written by Alma Busby-Williams, Welcome & Belonging Advisor And just like that, the third annual Weekend for All has ended! Each year I always have a little …
Read More of Weekend for All: When Access Becomes Belonging

Sep 18, 2026North Cascades Institute

June, July, and August are some of the most delightful months in the North Cascades ecoregion with abundant wildflowers, wildlife, and wild landscapes to explore! From natural …
Read More of Looking Back at the Flowers, Frogs & Frolics of Summer

Sep 11, 2026Marissa Bluestein

Summer in Washington is winding down, the days are getting shorter, and you can feel fall starting to creep in. The temperatures cool off, the rain returns, …
Read More of From the Trail: Why Autumn Smells So Good in the North Cascades

Sep 1, 2026North Cascades Institute

North Cascades Institute is excited to be relaunching its Creative Residency program! This fall, a series of three artists and writers will come stay at the Environmental …
Read More of Welcome to our Fall 2026 Creative Residents!

Aug 27, 2026Special Guest

Glaciers have shaped the landscape of the Pacific Northwest and continue to provide critical water resources each summer. They shape our mountains, create lake basins; provide freshwater …
Read More of The North Cascade Glacier Climate Project: Observing Glacier Change with Art and Science Since 1984

Aug 19, 2026Marissa Bluestein

If you’ve ever driven through Washington’s North Cascades on a sunny summer day, chances are you’ve had the same thought as just about everyone else: “Is the …
Read More of Why North Cascades Rivers Glow Turquoise Every Summer (And Why Diablo Lake Is So Iconic)

Jul 16, 2026Special Guest

After logging threatened their land, the Tla-o-qui-aht of Vancouver Island protected their forests—and themselves—by creating one of the world’s first indigenous-run parks. MEARES ISLAND, IN THE SOUTHWESTERN …
Read More of Guardians of Life: Vancouver Island Rebuilding Indigenous Sovereignty

Jul 10, 2026Special Guest

My new book, The Earth Said Remember Me: How to Revive Our Memories and Restore the Planet, centers on the ways in which ordinary forgetting is an …
Read More of “The Earth Said Remember Me” by Jason Dove Mark

Why Do Larch Trees Turn Gold? And Why Is That So Weird for a Conifer?

In the Range of Fire & Ice: Peopling the Passes

Weekend for All: When Access Becomes Belonging

Looking Back at the Flowers, Frogs & Frolics of Summer

From the Trail: Why Autumn Smells So Good in the North Cascades

Welcome to our Fall 2026 Creative Residents!

The North Cascade Glacier Climate Project: Observing Glacier Change with Art and Science Since 1984

Why North Cascades Rivers Glow Turquoise Every Summer (And Why Diablo Lake Is So Iconic)

Guardians of Life: Vancouver Island Rebuilding Indigenous Sovereignty

“The Earth Said Remember Me” by Jason Dove Mark

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