(4K UHD) HIKING HIGHLIGHTS - Fishing Pier @ Diablo Lake! | North Cascades National Park | Washington

*This Video is 4K UHD - it is made to watch on a Big Screen Smart TV!*

Chapters & Timestamps:

0:00 *Fishing Pier*
1:04 *Silent Perspectives* of Diablo Lake

Here is the FULL REVIEW of Colonial Creek South Campground: https://youtu.be/XXcy-D4sysY

*North Cascades National Park* is one of the most beautiful National Parks in the entire United States! Tucked up in Northern Washington, it is a bit of an undiscovered/underrated gem - and given that it is FREE to enter the National Park, it is an INCREDIBLE value proposition that is most certainly destination worthy! The heart of North Cascades National Park is the Diablo Lake to Ross Lake Zone, and the most prominent infrastructure is the Colonial Creek South and Colonial Creek North Campgrounds Complex on the Shoreline of Diablo Lake! This Area serves as an ideal Base Camp to explore some absolutely world class Hiking in the area. Please also note that Diablo Lake and Ross Lake (in addition to Lake Chelan to the SE adjacent to North Cascades National Park) feature Boat-In Dispersed Camping, and is, in my humble opinion, one of the most premium zones for Boat-In Dispersed Camping in the entire United States!

*Colonial Creek South Campground* is located in North Cascades National Park in Washington along the Shoreline of Diablo Lake and is one of the most eclectic Campgrounds that I have ever been to! It is the bigger of the two Campgrounds, and Recreation.gov treats Colonial Creek South Campground & Colonial Creek North Campground as two separate Campgrounds when Reserving a Campsite online. It has a Boat Ramp Launch, Dock, Fishing Pier, and Picnic Day Use Area. Deep into the Campground it also has a very high quality Amphitheater, which is great to take in an informative talk from a Forest Ranger, as well as Thunder Creek Trailhead (heading South) which is a gateway for premium Backcountry Camping! This Campground utilizes the Park & Walk-In Tent Only model more prominently than any I can think of! There are three main sections of this:

1) *Campsites #64 - #73* - adjacent to the Picnic Day Use Area, Boat Ramp Launch, Dock & featuring the Fishing Pier, this is the initial area - one of the most exciting and distinct features of this Zone is that it is OPEN YEAR ROUND for Camping, Weather permitting of course. That makes this an outstanding off season contrarian play highly worth doing!

2) *Campsites #74 - # 111* - with a few exceptions, almost this entire Zone is Park & Walk-In Tent Only. This is the heart of the Campground and features the BEST Shoreline Campsites of Diablo Lake!

3) *Campsites # 127 - # 141* - this Zone is tucked up higher in the Forest on the opposite side from Diablo Lake. Most of these require a steep little trek to get to them. There is a Side Trail that runs through this area that ultimately connects with Thunder Creek Trail to the South and this area is designed as more of a Hikers/Backpackers Base Camp.

There are also classic Car Camping Campsites and some with long driveways suitable for an RV. This diverse mix of Campsite types, a little something for everybody, is why I consider it to be such an eclectic Campground! *To provide Balance, a few other aspects to be aware of* because of the Park & Walk-In Tent Only design of the Shoreline Campsites, they are somewhat crammed in there spacing wise, so you are most definitely sacrificing Privacy for the Shoreline Access/Views - this may or may not be a good tradeoff to you. If you are a Single Family looking for a Privately Carved Campsite for a secluded experience, candidly Colonial Creek South Campground may not be the Campground for you. There are several sections I call "Wishbones", either Double or Triple, where a Cluster of Campsites are essentially right on top of each other as a quasi Group Camping Zone - if you can book a few together for a larger Group, that nullifies the Privacy concerns and is an ideal alignment that can be an absolutely magical experience! Lastly, because of the Highway Bridge across Diablo Lake being heavily traveled by Trucks, the Road Noise carries/echoes across the entire Area, so you will regularly hear the ambient nose of Traffic in the background - this is NOT a pin drop silent style Campground.

This Colonial Creek South Campground Full Review Video was made on April 30, 2025.

*Other Nearby Campgrounds.....*

Colonial Creek North Campground - https://youtu.be/QJcE0KTSNtc
Horseshoe Cove Campground (Baker Lake) - https://youtu.be/MhvvDIeCncs
Douglas Fir Campground - https://youtu.be/ZK1sKeuVgNU
Silver Fir Campground - https://youtu.be/mMa4ioCs3zY