Nestled in a bend of the Columbia River is the Rock Island Dam. This dam and the eponymous nearby community sits in a little spot along the river that looks like the river channel used to flow though there. Just a few miles east of Rock Island Grade and quite near the dam, is an… Continue reading Rock Island Grade Road
Category: Eastern WA
Eastern & Central Washington (“Dry Side”)
Glenwood – Trout Lake Highway
This windy little highway connects two interesting little towns that lie in the shadow of Mt. Adams and the Yakama Indian Reservation. While these two towns obviously don’t have motorcycle dealerships to handle repairs (Hood River’s just 25 miles away), between the two of them, they seem to have the basics covered. There’s some lodging… Continue reading Glenwood – Trout Lake Highway
Washington State Route 20 ‘North Cascades Highway’
Washington State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, is the northern-most route across the Washington section of the Cascade Range. The first path to be surveyed, it was last to be completed and the most difficult. Containing several sections of wonderful curves, SR 20 ascends the western foothills of the Cascades to Rainy Pass via… Continue reading Washington State Route 20 ‘North Cascades Highway’
US Route 2 (Monroe – Leavenworth)
There’s a sweet little piece of tarmac up over the Cascades that offers a much better route for the corner-loving sport-touring rider. US2 is this road, the interesting part running between Monroe and Leavenworth. US2 runs up over Stevens Pass and has some very nice mid-speed sweepers, marked at 50mph including a very nice hairpin… Continue reading US Route 2 (Monroe – Leavenworth)
US Route 97 (Maryhill, WA to Toppenish, WA)
US97 is a dry side road. It wends its way up from the Columbia along the valley floors, scatterings of abandoned pastureland and hardwood pines punctuating the Eastern Cascade scenery. The views are impressive and the highway is as well-paved as it is desolate on our mid-October weekend excursion. At one fairly flat spot south… Continue reading US Route 97 (Maryhill, WA to Toppenish, WA)