Pacific Northwest Road Trips

Glaciers are responsible for much of the landscape surrounding the North Cascades Highway (SR 20). Mountains dominate the horizon, forests populate the area, and you can see the Skagit and Methow rivers running just beyond the road at certain points. Take advantage of scenic overlooks along the way.

Your journey starts within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Four miles past Silverton and a mile past the Verlot Ranger Station, watch for the Ice Caves Trailhead sign; from the parking lot, a 1-mile trail leads to the Big Four Ice Caves. Beyond 2,361-foot Barlow Pass, the partly-gravel road leads north to the end of the byway and Darrington.

At the northern end of Chuckanut Drive is Bellingham, which overlooks the sheltered harbor of Bellingham Bay and the picturesque San Juan Islands. Cut into the hillsides above Samish Bay, the route’s serpentine path winds through Larrabee State Park, with views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountain Range. The route veers inland across farmland to end in Burlington.

Expect plenty of natural beauty but few signs of civilization along Malheur National Forest Scenic Drive. In addition to its scenery and solitude, US 26 provides access to several campgrounds within Malheur and Wallowa-Whitman national forests. Stretch your legs at the Sumpter Valley Interpretive Trail, where you’ll find tracks once used by the Sumpter Valley Railway.

Experience the very definition of unspoiled Pacific Northwest wilderness while traversing the Robert Aufderheide Memorial Scenic Drive (FR 19). Thick pines and Douglas firs of the Willamette National Forest watch over the McKenzie River, which closely follows the road to the north. At 3,682-foot Box Canyon Summit, breathe in the fresh, clean air.

This route delivers magnificent Shasta Cascade region mountain vistas, historic railroad and Gold Rush towns, and the awesome glacial and volcanic scenery of Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. But with such wild, surreal beauty comes limited sight distances, mountain grades and road closures; be sure to check driving conditions before heading out.

Thick forests of towering trees give way to inspiring vistas as Sunrise Road climbs to higher elevations, with numerous switchbacks and pullouts along the route. Stop at Sunrise Point for a panorama of the Cascades, then continue on to Sunrise, the northeastern viewing point for Mount Rainier. Wildflowers bloom near Sunrise from mid-July to mid-August.