River Loop Trail
(Milepost 120)

The 1.8 mile River Loop trail winds a gentle course from the North Cascades Visitor Center down to the Skagit River and back. Western Hemlock, Douglas-fir, and Western Red Cedar visibly dominate the route with a number of deciduous species making an appearance as maples, alders and cottonwoods. An old road makes up part of the trail where lodgepole pines take advantage of sunlight and shrubs such as dogwood and willow can be found.

In the deeper sections where Douglas- fir tower and lichen hang from hemlock limbs, listen for the high powered flicker-like call of the Pileated Woodpecker. Although crow-sized, this large and noisy woodpecker can be hard to locate in the deep coniferous shade.
In the canopy listen and look for Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Townsend's, Black-throated Gray, and Yellow-rumped Warblers and possibly Red Crossbills. Occasionally Brown Creepers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Hairy Woodpeckers will associate with these mixed foraging flocks.

Listen for the bubbling song of the Winter Wren heard constantly throughout spring and early summer. (MaGillivray's Warblers can be found along the edge of the old lodgepole pine road.) Also in spring, the metallic-like songs of the Varied Thrush compete with the ethereal spirals of Swainson's Thrush that skulk in the moist underbrush.

As the trail winds its way down and along the river, watch for American Dippers hunting aquatic insects from rocks. Dippers enjoy the most tumultuous areas, precariously bobbing and dancing on stream-soaked boulders. Its also possible to observe Spotted Sandpipers sharing the Dippers habitat, though generally they are more active along the shore.

Steller's Jays, Ravens, and the distant songs of White-crowned Sparrows always seem to accent the background of any spring or summer hike along this trail. Migration brings Neotropical visitors such as Western Tanagers, Hammond's, Olive-sided, and Pacific-slope Flycatchers, all breeders in this area. The haunting song of the Western Wood Pewee can challenge any birder to discover its whereabouts. Good Luck!

In fall, watch for the return of Bald Eagles along the Skagit River though peak season for this activity is later in winter. Red-tailed and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Ospreys and sometimes Northern Harriers cruise the river, and in the fall of 1999 a Cooper's Hawk fledged at least two young not far from the trail.

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