North Cascades Keystone Forest

Red denotes forested BLM and national forest lands; green is forested national parks and forested wilderness areas; yellow is miscellaneous forested public lands and private preserves. View the PDF version for more details.

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The North Cascades Keystone Forest, ranging from Interstate 90 in Washington north to the Canadian border, is among the wildest places in America. During the months when the North Cascades Highway (SR 20) is under snow, the area features the largest contiguous expanse of roadless land left in the lower 48 states. This keystone forest stretches between the Puget lowland and the Cascade Mountains leeward forest ecoregions. Forests of Douglas fir, Western hemlock and Western red cedar dominate the Western slopes. The Eastern slopes vary from Douglas fir to Ponderosa pine to lodgepole pine. The valleys start as low as almost sea level and are often separated by high and rugged ridges that reach to stunning peaks, the highest of which is volcanic Mount Baker at more than 10,000 feet. In this remote expanse, low populations of grizzly bear, wolverine, lynx and cougar are still found and the occasional wolf. The usual list of Northwest forest-dependent species also live here, from the Northern spotted owl to Pacific giant salamander, pine marten and a few lonely Pacific fisher. Runs of Pacific salmon, steelhead and bull trout vary in health.