North Cascades Highway

A 511 km loop

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Why this ride

Leave the city behind and spend the day on roads with texture. 511 km round from Snoqualmie - plan on about 9 h 27 of riding. It goes by way of Arlington Heights, near Stanwood, near Shelton and White Center. near Prairie Ridge is the high point. It tops out at about 850 m.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop near Snoqualmie fuel

   Snoqualmie sits in the foothills of the Cascades, about half an hour east of Seattle along Interstate 90. The town is best known for Snoqualmie Falls, where the Snoqualmie River drops about 270 feet into a misty gorge. The falls have long been sacred to the Snoqualmie Tribe, and today they draw visitors from around the world. Fans of the television series Twin Peaks will also recognise the area, as much of the show was filmed in and around Snoqualmie and North Bend.

   As a start and fuel stop, Snoqualmie is well placed. You will find gas stations in town and in neighbouring North Bend, and it is a good idea to fill up before heading into the mountains, where services become scarce. The Northwest Railway Museum in the old Snoqualmie depot is a charming stop if you have time, with historic locomotives and carriages on display.

   The riding from here can go several ways. I-90 climbs east to Snoqualmie Pass, the lowest of the major Cascade passes, while smaller roads wind north through the Snoqualmie Valley towards Fall City, Carnation and Duvall, with farmland, forests and river views. These valley roads are gentle and scenic, though traffic can be heavy on weekends, especially around the falls.

   Weather in the Cascades foothills is famously changeable. Rain is common much of the year, and mist often hangs in the valleys. In winter, snow can affect the pass. Bring layers and rain gear, and enjoy the lush green forests that make this part of Washington so distinctive.

2. Near Arlington Heights, on the way back swim

   The North Fork of the Stillaguamish River flows west out of the Cascades here, through a wide valley of farmland and forests, past the small communities of Arlington Heights, Oso and Darrington, on its way to Puget Sound. You are in the hills above the valley, east of Arlington, and on a hot day on the way back from the North Cascades, the river and the small lakes in the area offer a chance to cool off.

   The valley has a tragic recent history. In March 2014, a hillside above the river near Oso collapsed in one of the deadliest landslides in American history, burying a neighbourhood and killing forty-three people. The site is now a memorial, and State Route 530 passes right by it. It is a sobering place, and many travellers stop to pay their respects.

   The North Cascades Highway, State Route 20, which the ride follows, ranks with the finest mountain roads in the United States, crossing the Cascades through the North Cascades National Park, with jagged peaks, glaciers and turquoise lakes like Diablo Lake. Washington Pass, at the top, has views of the granite spires of Liberty Bell Mountain. The highway is closed in winter, typically from November to April or May, because of avalanche danger.

   Swimming in the rivers here is a serious business. The water comes straight from glaciers and snowfields, so it is cold even in midsummer, and the currents can be strong. Choose calm, shallow spots, and never swim alone. Some of the lakes in the foothills are warmer and calmer, with public access points. Arlington has fuel, supermarkets and fast food, and the valley has a few small stores and cafés. The roads are generally good, two-lane highways with gentle curves, but they can be busy with logging trucks and RVs.

3. Food stop near Stanwood food

   Stanwood sits at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River, where it spreads into a delta of farmland and tidal marshes before reaching Puget Sound. The town was settled largely by Norwegian immigrants in the late nineteenth century, and the Scandinavian heritage still shows in local names and festivals. It is the gateway to Camano Island, connected to the mainland by a short bridge, and a pleasant stop on the way north.

   The landscape around Stanwood is flat and open, with views across the farmland to the Cascades in the east and the Olympic Mountains across the water to the west. The fields are rich and productive, growing vegetables, berries and flowers. Further north, the Skagit Valley is famous for its tulip fields, which bloom in April and draw crowds. In winter, huge flocks of snow geese and trumpeter swans arrive from the Arctic, feeding in the fields and filling the air with their calls.

   The roads here are mostly flat and straight, with gentle bends along rivers and sloughs. They are pleasant for a relaxed ride, but watch for farm machinery, slow traffic and wind on the open flats. From Stanwood, the route heads north and east towards the North Cascades Highway, State Route 20, one of the most spectacular mountain roads in the United States, which crosses the range through deep valleys and over high passes. It closes for the winter, usually from November to spring, so check the status before you go.

   Stanwood has fuel stations, supermarkets, cafés and restaurants, making it a good place for a meal before heading into the mountains. Local bakeries offer Scandinavian pastries, a nod to the town's heritage.

4. Photo stop near Shelton photo

   Photo stop near Shelton, about halfway.

5. Near White Center finish

   Ferries are the quiet heart of this corner of Seattle. White Center, a modest, diverse neighbourhood, lies just inland, and Lincoln Park offers forest trails, beaches and views over the water.

   Puget Sound is a complex inland sea carved by glaciers, with deep channels, islands and peninsulas, and its cold, nutrient-rich waters support orcas, seals, porpoises and salmon. On a clear day Mount Rainier rises huge and white to the southeast, a volcano so massive that it creates its own weather. The weather here is famously grey and drizzly from autumn to spring, but summers are often dry and sunny, with long evenings and clear skies.

   The North Cascades Highway is one of the great rides of the Pacific Northwest. It leaves Interstate 5 near Burlington and heads east along the Skagit River, past the turquoise lakes of Diablo and Ross, which owe their colour to fine glacial flour, and climbs to Washington Pass, where granite spires rise above the road. The highway closes in winter because of snow and avalanche danger, usually from November until spring, so check the dates before you plan. Beyond Marblemount, services disappear for a long stretch until you descend to Mazama and Winthrop, so fill up before the climb.

   Getting out of Seattle can be slow. Traffic on Interstate 5 and the city's bridges is heavy at rush hour and at weekends, and the West Seattle Bridge can be a bottleneck. Ferries can save time and offer a scenic alternative, though queues are long in summer. Riding in the rain is common, and the roads can be slippery with leaves and moss in the autumn.

   Fuel, food and coffee are easy to find in West Seattle and White Center. For a pause before or after the ride, walk down to the water at Lincoln Park and watch the ferries come and go. With the islands, the mountains and the light on the Sound, it is a fine place to start or end any journey.

6. Scenic stretch in Waller scenic

   Waller is an unincorporated community on the eastern side of Tacoma, in Pierce County, a semi-rural area of small farms, woodlots and scattered homes between the city and the Puyallup River valley. It is not a famous place, but it is a good example of the green, rolling country that surrounds the Puget Sound cities.

   The Puyallup Valley, just east, is rich farmland that has been cultivated for generations. Daffodils, tulips and berries were once major crops, and the Puyallup Fair, held each September, is one of the largest in the state. On clear days, Mount Rainier dominates the skyline to the south-east, an enormous glaciated volcano that seems to float above the landscape.

   Riding through Waller, you will find a mix of roads. Waller Road itself is a pleasant, gently curving route with trees on both sides, while nearby arterials can be busy with traffic heading to and from Tacoma, Puyallup and the surrounding suburbs. Surfaces are generally good, but watch for gravel, wet leaves in autumn and the occasional deer.

   Fuel, food and coffee are easy to find in Tacoma, Puyallup and the surrounding towns. From here, the routes towards Mount Rainier and the Cascades open up, offering some of the best riding in the Pacific Northwest. Treat Waller as a pleasant passage, a quiet country interlude before the mountains.

7. High point near Prairie Ridge pass

   Prairie Ridge is a residential community on a plateau above the Puyallup and White River valleys, south of Bonney Lake in Pierce County. The ridge rises above the surrounding lowlands, and on clear days the view of Mount Rainier is spectacular, the great volcano filling the south-eastern sky with its glaciers and snowfields.

   The area sits close to State Route 410, the road that leads east through Buckley and Enumclaw towards Mount Rainier National Park and Chinook Pass. This is one of the classic rides of the region, climbing through dense forest into the Cascades, with the mountain appearing and disappearing between the trees. Chinook Pass is closed in winter, usually from late autumn to late spring, so check conditions before planning a crossing.

   The roads around Prairie Ridge itself are suburban and semi-rural, with some gentle bends and climbs as you come up from the valley floor. Traffic can be heavy on SR 410 at commuter times and on summer weekends when visitors head to the park. Watch for deer, especially at dawn and dusk, and for logging trucks on the routes further east.

   Services are available in Bonney Lake, Buckley and Enumclaw, including fuel, food and coffee. Enumclaw is a pleasant small town and a good place to stop before heading into the mountains, where options become limited. From the high ground here, the whole range of the Cascades seems to beckon.

8. Back to North finish

   The tall, bare face of Mount Si dominates the horizon, a steep ridge above the town that stands about 1,270 metres tall and is one of the most climbed hills in Washington. Behind it the range goes on, forest after forest, to the passes.

   Snoqualmie Falls is the place that visitors come for, a few minutes off the road. The river drops about eighty metres, more than Niagara, in a single plume into a pool, with spray rising in the air and a viewing platform on the cliff above. It is sacred to the Snoqualmie people, who regard the mist as a link between earth and sky. Lodge buildings stand at the top, and the power station at the base has been running since the 1890s. North Bend, the small town below Mount Si, became known to a worldwide audience when the television series Twin Peaks was filmed in this district in 1989 and 1990, and there is still a diner here that plays up the connection.

   A rider coming back from the North Cascades Highway arrives on a long, quiet descent. State Route 20, over Washington Pass at about 1,675 metres, is closed by snow in winter, usually from November until April or May, and when it reopens it is among the finest roads in the Pacific Northwest, a smooth ribbon through granite spires and pine. The way home from there is the interstate, I-90, with trucks, rain and the flow of commuters, and the Snoqualmie Pass at about 920 metres is an easy crossing in summer but can be hit by chains and closures in winter.

   North Bend and Snoqualmie are both large enough for fuel and food, and the town has bakeries and coffee shops with real character. Rain is a fact of life, particularly from October to May, and the Douglas firs, ferns and moss glow a wet, deep green. Late summer and early autumn are the best seasons, with warm days, dry roads and the first colour in the maples. Weekends bring heavy traffic to the falls, so a weekday visit is calmer. Take a rain layer even on a sunny morning, because the weather turns fast.

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