Every autumn, a few weeks only, the larch forests of the Washington Cascades turn a vivid gold — and one of the best places to see it is Cutthroat Pass, a stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest. The roughly 10-mile out-and-back climb gains about 2,000 feet, starting in creeks-crossed forest before switchbacks carry you to a ridgeline viewpoint with clear sightlines to Black and Fisher Peaks. A side option leads to Cutthroat Lake, a clear alpine pool ringed by trees and crags.
What makes this hike famous is the foliage rather than the summit. Larches are deciduous conifers: instead of staying green year-round, they flush gold each fall before dropping their needles. Groves of them line much of the route, with blueberry and huckleberry bushes and late wildflowers adding extra colour underfoot. Many hikers rank it among the state's very best autumn walks.
Getting there is straightforward. Fly into Bellingham International Airport, rent a car, and drive east on the North Cascades Scenic Highway (State Route 20) — under three hours to the trailhead, which sits right beside the road. The route passes through North Cascades National Park, and you'll likely share the early miles with thru-hikers finishing the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail before the Canadian border.
If one larch hike isn't enough — and given how short the season is, it often isn't — two more start nearby. Directly across from the Cutthroat Pass trailhead is the Maple Pass Loop (also called Heather–Maple Pass), a demanding 6.5-mile circuit with more than 2,000 feet of climbing, meadows full of wildflowers and an optional detour to glacial Lake Ann. Short on time or energy? Rainy Pass, whose trailhead is next to Maple Pass, is a gentler 3.4-mile loop with about 700 feet of gain that still reaches Lake Ann, its shoreline lined with golden larches.
After a day on the trail, the western-themed town of Winthrop sits about 35 miles east, with pizza, beer and wine waiting — plus decent phone signal for posting those all-gold photos.
