North Cascades Institute Skagit Tours- Day Tours, Washington, United States
4.0 (15 reviews) Spent Ranking #1 in Sedro Woolley Sightseeing Tours
Northcascades Institute and Skagit Tours Hidden Gem Duos!
Our family made the most of a short Summer vacation by staying local and making reservations at the North Cascades Institute for one night at BASE Camp, provided our dinner, then we woke up to breakfast as well. Following breakfast we caught the Skagit Tour on Lake Diablo. No hassels or worries, we just walked to the dock from NCI. Highly recommend you make ADVANCE reservations, as both venues fill up quickly.
Address
810 State Route 20, Sedro Woolley, Washington, United States, Postal Code: 98284-1263.
Mobile
Website
http://ncascades.org/signup/programs/skagit-tours
Current local date and time now
Sunday, May 12, 2024, 14:10
User Ratings
4.0 based on (15 reviews)
Excellent
61%
Good
13%
Satisfactory
13%
Poor
13%
Terrible
0%
Reviews
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3JuniperToo 5:00 PM Jul 11, 2014
Diablo Lake Boat Tour
This tour consists of lunch and then a boat cruise on Diablo Lake. The scenery was great - it was a clear day - but the tour took too long. You check in at 10:30am at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. Then you have 45 minutes to wait for lunch. There are some short trails through the woods or you could walk around the campus of the learning center. Most people just sat at the cafeteria and waited. They had coffee and tea available. Lunch at 11:15 was buffet style. They had green salad with local vegetables, potato salad, smoked salmon pasta, soup, rolls, and several dessert selections. It was good, but not outstanding. They schedule an hour for lunch so if you finish early there's really nothing to do but wait around some more. At 12:15 everyone assembled outside for a brief talk on how the National Park Service, Seattle City Light and North Cascades Institue formed an alliance and work together. Then they walked us down to board the boat. There were several stops for additional talks by the guides - including how they built the campus with concern for the environment. It's about a quarter mile walk, but they also had a shuttle service for people who couldn't walk that far. We boarded the boat at 12:45 and cruised slowly around the lake to the top of Diablo Dam and then upriver through a narrow canyon to the base of Ross Dam. The guides talked about the history of the Seattle City Light projects and wildlife in the wilderness areas (although we didn't see any wildlife). It was a hot day and they did have drinking water available. We got off the boat for about 15 minutes at Ross Dam. There were a couple of Porta Potties in case you needed one since there was no toilet on the boat. Then we cruised back down the lake and got back to the dock at 2:30. Diablo Lake is quite scenic and you get to see sections that you can't see from the highway. I would have given the tour a higher rating if it was better organized. There was about 90 minutes of sitting or standing around with nothing to do.
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4NurseNancy12 5:00 PM Jul 28, 2018
Great tour
We took the afternoon boat tour and enjoyed it. Very informative talk by the North Cascades NP Ranger Amos and the Environmental Institute representative Billy. Boat ride was smooth and scenic and beautiful. Very much worth it.
