North Cascades National Park

As snow falls in the North Cascades of Washington state and the highway closes for another winter, life is slower and quieter at the Environmental Learning Center at the North Cascades Institute. After a busy summer and fall of teaching, the institute's naturalists are off for a well-earned break, some upriver staff head out on furlough, but learning continues at the organization's campus on Diablo Lake.

Named a “Top Three Spots in the North Cascades” by The Seattle Times and “Top Ten Great Getaways” by ParentMap Magazine, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is a hub of discovery for all ages in one of the wildest, most biologically diverse landscapes in North America.

Winter brings a frosty, and icy, new robe to many national parks. The biting cold against the snowy settings can be magical, as these photos show.

As of today, September 1, campfires or the ignition of wood, briquettes, or any fuel in fire pits, fire pans, and barbeque grills, are banned in all portions of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.