Completed Projects Stevens Pass
Stevens Pass, a key Pacific Crest Trail access point in the Cascade Range east of Seattle, is now permanently protected and owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
The Pacific Crest Trail at Stevens Pass is a gateway to some of the most spectacular wilderness in the North Cascades. The Stevens Pass trailhead is also an important PCT access point for millions of people in the Greater Seattle region. Just to the south lies the spectacular Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and to the north are the equally magnificent Henry M. Jackson and Glacier Peak wilderness areas.
In early 2015, the property’s private owner, who had been seeking to sell the land, stated their intention to place a fence across the trail and close the PCT to public access through the parcel. Recognizing the potentially disastrous impact of a trail closure and the threat that development of the property would pose, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, working alongside the U.S. Forest Service, secured an option agreement to purchase the property.
In November 2017, after years of work and major help from private donors and trail lovers, we closed the $1.6 million acquisition, buying 402 acres from a private seller. This once-imperiled property provides the only feasible trail corridor for the PCT through this area, and has now been successfully transferred from the PCTA to the U.S. Forest Service for perpetual public use.
To learn more, read our blog post on the acquisition.
