![]() ![]() The highway is two lanes most of the way. The most spectacular whitewater views are along the Wenatchee River in Tumwater Canyon, just west of Leavenworth. ![]() Nason Creek and the Wenatchee River play peekaboo with motorists on the eastern slope. The highway accompanies the Skykomish River through lush evergreen forests up and past the Stevens Pass ski area to the dry side of the state. Highway 2)Įastbound from Monroe, the highway passes through rural countryside, small towns and past 5,991-foot Mount Index, the rocky promontory signaling that the climbing is about to begin. Stevens Pass: National Scenic Byway (U.S. Worth a stop: Farm-fresh produce stands in Skagit Valley and Methow Valley Silo Park in the historic town of Concrete, 29 miles east of Burlington, where cement was once made from clay and limestone North Cascades National Park Visitors Center in Newhalem numerous viewpoints, including Lake Diablo, Ross Lake and Washington Pass overlooks Old West theme town of Winthrop Cinnamon Twisp Bakery in Twisp. Year opened: 1972, four years after North Cascades National Park was established Gateways: Burlington to the west is 133 miles west of Winthrop to the east.Įlevation/closures: Rainy Pass, 4,875 feet and Washington Pass, 5,477 feet closed late fall to mid-springĭaily Traffic: 1,400 vehicles, 8% of which are trucks The route is bookended by pastoral valleys of the Skagit River to the west and the Methow River to the east. Campgrounds and a multitude of trailheads are adjacent or close to the highway. Abutting North Cascades National Park and including two of the state’s highest highway passes, it offers views of jagged peaks and spires, glaciers, waterfalls and lakes. This youngest and longest of the six routes is also the most spectacular. North Cascades: National Scenic Highway (State Route 20) In addition, roadside attractions and side-trip possibilities include the state’s oldest continuously operating saloon, an interpretive site describing the state’s single most-deadly event 111 years ago, Bavarian and Old West theme towns, the highest paved road in the state, countless short-hike options, eye-popping viewpoints and a few good bakeries.įrom north to south, here are Washington’s six cross-state highway routes. Snow forces closure of two routes (North Cascades and Chinook Pass) every fall, but rarely before November. These six routes include federal and state scenic byways, two routes through or abutting national parks, one through the country’s largest national scenic area, and one that we’ll call “The Pass That’s Hiding in Plain Sight.”Īll six expose motorists to an awesome variety of landscapes, climates, foliage and geology. ![]() Post-Labor Day traffic is often lighter, crowds are thinner, colors are more varied, and some inns and tourism-dependent shops might be trimming prices. Late summer to early fall is the perfect time to discover - or rediscover - one or more of Washington’s six stunning highway routes over and through the Cascade Range. Spectacular Scenery and Unique Attractions Await Motorists Crossing the Cascade Range ![]()
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