A new day, a new adventure, and there are oodles more that entice the trekker than just Mount Baker’s powder in the winter. Apart from winter adventures, this babe, boasting a 10,778-foot elevation, beguiles backpackers, hikers and four-season nature lovers.

“Outdoor splendor as Mother Nature intended.” Dan Graham’s depiction emanates from a man who really knows this part of Washington State (about two hours north of Seattle and about 62 miles southeast from Vancouver, British Columbia). He’s been the president of Mt. Baker Lodging for seven of the 19 years that it has existed and has helped secure a manifold of vacation rentals for explorers.

What started with 17 properties seven years ago has now surged to 80. The company bills itself as the number one vacation rental agency for private vacation homes located at the gateway to Mount Baker Recreation Area, extending into the villages of Glacier and Maple Falls. The rise in numbers at Baker Lodging simply affirms the obvious: droves of vacationers want to experience one of America’s eminent alpine settings. Located in the North Cascades of Washington, Mount Baker, after Mount Rainier, has the second largest glacial system in the contiguous United States. Classified as a stratovolcano, meaning it is composed of lava flows and pyroclastic materials, with 13 volcanic eruptions in its recorded history (the last major eruption was in 1880), it is also considered an active volcano.

With record snowfalls of up to 1100 inches in one season, Mount Baker tops the world record. Travelers arrive between Thanksgiving and March to cross-country ski, snow-shoe, snowmobile and snowboard. However, according to Dan, Mount Baker is equally busy during the summer months, beginning around the second week of June until the second week of September. Silver Lake is a popular warmer-weather spot that attracts swimmers and other water-sport enthusiasts. Then, during the off-peak season beginning around the second week of September until Thanksgiving, “snowbirders” turn up to take advantage of the quiet landscape.

Anytime of year, vacationers reach the destination with a multitude of interests that necessitate a variety of lodging preferences. Mt. Baker Lodging, covering a 10-mile radius, custom fits the most finicky overnighter’s agenda by offering cabins, cottages, condos, chalets, executive vacation home rentals, and two bed and breakfasts: the Mystic Inn at Silver Lake and the Inn at Mount Baker, all with full housekeeping staff.

The lodging properties, with the exception of the B & Bs, present fully equipped kitchens or kitchenettes. However, for those who prefer to dine out, there are six restaurants in the vicinity that offer fare ranging from family-style to microbrewery facilities, in addition to Mexican- and Italian-style eateries.

Generally, each property in the Baker family is distinct. “All of the properties that we represent are privately owned and they’re all individually unique, which makes for a great experience. We have properties ranging from smaller one-bedroom cottages and cabins that will ideally sleep a couple right on up to large, executive vacation homes that sleep up to 10 to 12 persons,” Dan says.

For those corporate affairs, family reunions, intimate weddings and other special occasion travel events, Mt. Baker Lodging performs multiple home bookings.

Dan elaborates, “We find accommodations that are located close together, usually right next door to one another or right across the street from one another that will flexibly accommodate a larger group. We’ve had as many as 21 homes booked by one group. It makes it kind of fun because the décor is different from home to home, the architecture is different. People can go from one place to the next and visit each individual home and many of them include amenities, such as private outdoor hot tub, some have billiard tables others have saunas, ping pong tables.”

Mt. Baker Lodging also can fulfill additional client requests like reserving whitewater rafting excursion tickets on the Nooksack River, appointing a licensed massage practitioner for guests or booking a sought-after guided tour with Suzanne Nagler Harris, a naturalist, herbalist and “wildcrafter” who, among other things, gives the insider’s scoop on wild edible and medicinal plants growing in the Mount Baker Recreational Area.

Since about 40 percent of Baker Lodging patrons are repeat customers, the general rule of thumb is to book accommodations at least two months early. For those last-minute procrastinators, however, Dan says, “Usually we have something available, but it’s not always their first choice.”

Due to word-of-mouth advertising and cyberspace consumers, vacationers appear from all walks of life. “We get a lot of families, we get a lot of couples, we get a lot of alternative lifestyle couples, we get a lot of folks with pets because about 30 of our units are pet-friendly,” Dan explains.

For budget-conscious travelers, Dan says, “Because of the variety of properties that we offer, we have accommodations starting at $89 a night, all the way up to $499 a night during the peak holiday period for an executive suite.”

One final note: Everything up here is casual, just remember to bring a laid-back attitude.