Why this ride
763 km from Enumclaw to Vashon, about 15 h 35 of riding. The stops in between: Packwood, Mount Rainier and near Vashon. The climbs: Sunrise Road and near Maplewood. It tops out at about 1,550 m. The passes are the reason to go.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Seattle · Mount Rainier Sunrise Loop + Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 763 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 15 h 35
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Enumclaw fuel
Enumclaw sits on the plateau east of Seattle where the suburbs thin out into horse paddocks, hay fields and dairy farms, with Mount Rainier standing on the horizon on any clear day. The mountain, at about 4,390 metres, is an active volcano and the highest in the Cascade range, covered in more glacier ice than any other peak in the lower forty-eight states. It looks very close from here, and it is, which is a large part of why so many riders begin the day in this town.
Read the complete Enumclaw write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Enumclaw fuel is where the day begins. Next is Sunrise Road.
2. Sunrise Road
Sunrise is the highest point in Mount Rainier National Park that you can reach by road, about 6,400 feet above the sea, and the view from the car park is the one that makes people stop mid-sentence. From here the mountain, a volcano of 14,411 feet that is the highest in the Cascade Range, stands only a few miles away across a bowl of meadows and moraines, with the Emmons Glacier, the biggest in the contiguous United States by area, spilling down its flank. On a clear day it is almost too large to take in.
Read the complete Sunrise Road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Packwood food.
3. Packwood food
Packwood is a small town on the south side of Mount Rainier, on US 12 in the Cowlitz Valley, about twenty miles west of the White Pass summit, and it has long been a place where people stop for something to eat. The population is only a few hundred, but the town has a handful of cafes, a general store and a gas station, and in a stretch of road with very little else, that counts as a metropolis. It is known locally for its flea market, held in summer, which has grown into a large gathering of vendors and visitors.
Read the complete Packwood food write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A break here. Next is Mount Rainier viewpoint.
4. Mount Rainier viewpoint
Mount Rainier is not a mountain that you view casually. At 14,411 feet it rises more than two miles above the lowlands of Puget Sound, a huge, ice-capped volcano with some twenty-five named glaciers, visible on a clear day from Seattle, Tacoma and as far away as Portland. The Puyallup and Nisqually people called it Tahoma or Tacoma, and the name Rainier was given by Captain George Vancouver in 1792, in honour of a friend in the navy. It is considered an active volcano, and the scientists who study it keep a close watch, because the ice and mud on its flanks could flow in great lahars down the valleys to the suburbs below.
Read the complete Mount Rainier viewpoint write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mount Rainier viewpoint, early in the day. Next is Back to Enumclaw fuel.
5. Back to Enumclaw fuel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Enumclaw write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Enumclaw fuel. That is the ride. Next is Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon.
6. Fuel stop near Vashon
Planning note
Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon is the fuel stop for this leg. Next is High point near Maplewood.
7. High point near Maplewood
Planning note
This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon checkpoint 8.
8. Near Manchester
Across Puget Sound from Seattle, on the eastern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula, the little community of Manchester looks back at the city skyline from a beach of pebbles and driftwood. On a clear evening the view is remarkable: the towers of downtown Seattle across the water, the Space Needle, ferries crossing in the dusk and, on a good day, Mount Rainier floating above it all. It is a quiet, unassuming place, with houses scattered along the shore and in the woods behind.
Read the complete Near Manchester write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is Scenic stretch near Suquamish.
9. Scenic stretch near Suquamish
Planning note
Scenic stretch near Suquamish sits at 395 km, about halfway. Next is Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon photo pull-off.
10. Hansville
Planning note
Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon photo pull-off comes up 444 km in. Next is Seattle / Pacific Northwest return.
11. Near Snoqualmie, on the way back
Planning note
493 km in you reach Seattle / Pacific Northwest return. Next is Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon food stop.
12. Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon food stop
Snoqualmie Falls drops two hundred and sixty-eight feet over a granite ledge, about a hundred feet farther than Niagara, and it sounds like a train. The Snoqualmie River pours into the gorge in a column of white, and a pale mist rises from the pool below, drifting over the viewing platform. For the Snoqualmie people, the falls are sacred, a place where the mist rising from the water connects the earth to the sky, and they still hold ceremonies there. The Salish Lodge, a handsome hotel perched at the lip, has become a landmark in its own right, and its restaurant has long been popular for breakfast, though bookings help.
Read the complete Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon food stop write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Somewhere to get off the bike, 543 km in. Next is Back to Snoqualmie and.
13. Back to Snoqualmie and
Vashon Island is reached only by water, which has kept it quieter, greener and somewhat more eccentric than the mainland. Orchards, small farms, craft studios and a few galleries make up most of the economy, and locals take pride in a certain independent streak.
Read the complete Snoqualmie and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Snoqualmie and closes the day.
Leg by leg
Enumclaw fuel to Sunrise Road
Enumclaw fuel → Sunrise Road is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sunrise Road to Packwood food
Sunrise Road → Packwood food is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Packwood food to Mount Rainier viewpoint
Packwood food → Mount Rainier viewpoint is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mount Rainier viewpoint to Back to Enumclaw fuel
Mount Rainier viewpoint → Back to Enumclaw fuel is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Enumclaw fuel to Fuel stop near Vashon
Back to Enumclaw fuel → Fuel stop near Vashon is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop near Vashon to High point near Maplewood
Fuel stop near Vashon → High point near Maplewood is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Maplewood to Near Manchester
High point near Maplewood → Near Manchester is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Suquamish to Hansville
Scenic stretch near Suquamish → Hansville is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon food stop to Back to Snoqualmie and
Snoqualmie and Yakima Canyon food stop → Back to Snoqualmie and is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.