Accommodations and Food

Halfway between Rockport and Marblemount [1] is Totem Trails Motel (57627 Hwy. 20 Rockport, 360/873-4535, www.totemtrail.com [2], $50 s), a basic one-story motel good for quick overnight stays. There are no fridges in the rooms, but there is a shared refrigerator on-site.

Buffalo Run Inn (360/873-4311, www.buffaloruninn.com [3], $49–109) presents the best lodging options around Marblemount. It was built in 1889 as a roadhouse for workers attempting to build a road over the mountains. The road they began was not completed until the 1972 opening of Highway 20. After years of service as a restaurant, the building was renovated into a well-appointed inn a few years ago.

The name comes from the fantastic restaurant across the street, Buffalo Run Restaurant (360/873-2461,11-9), whose specialty is anything made with buffalo meat. The owners run a buffalo ranch a few miles out of town and they make the best meals in the area using their own stock. The home-baked breads, berry pies, hearty soups, and fresh-from-the-garden organic greens are special treats.

Hide away in a quiet little cabin at Grace Haven (three miles west of Marblemount, 360/873-4106, http://gracehavenretreat.com [4], $105 s or d). This quiet property offers clean, traditional cabins, fully furnished and including full kitchens and a charcoal grill out back. After a day of hiking, chill out with a game of badminton or horseshoes and then relax by the fire pit on the property.

Three miles west of Marblemount [1], Clark’s Skagit River Cabins (58468 Clark Cabin Rd., 360/873-2250 or 800/273-2606, www.northcascades.com [5], $79–129 s or d, $15 tents, $25 full hookups) offers a variety of rustic cabins, space for tents and RVs, plus showers on-site for campers. Visitors also have the option to stay in a bed-and-breakfast-style room at the property’s Brookhaven Lodge ($99 s or $109 d). Also here is The Eatery Restaurant (7 a.m.–9 p.m.) with all-American meals. Be sure to check out the curious hand-sewn flag made in 1890. Rabbit lovers will have a hopping time here; dozens of bunnies are all over the big green grounds.