Category: Western WA

Western Washington & Olympic Mountains

Washington State Route 165

For those not familiar with the geography around Mount Rainier, SR165 is the highway that provides access to the northwest corner of the Mt. Rainier area. SR165 isn’t what you expect for a state-funded highway, as the roadway is only marginally maintained (less as you go higher) and the guide rails along the road are… Continue reading Washington State Route 165

Washington State Route 542 “Mount Baker Highway”

This road is a real gem. The east-west section across the north end of Baker is a good 30 miles of tree-lined sweepers. Once you get to the northeast of Baker, SR 542 gets positively exciting with a succession of steeply-graded, challenging hairpin curves. The lower elevations of Mount Baker Highway are fairly typical of… Continue reading Washington State Route 542 “Mount Baker Highway”

Mosquito Lake Road

This is something of a preliminary report, as I’ve been twice prevented from traveling this road end to end. In late February of 2005, I ran into sheet ice on this road with temps in the mid-30s, and a 4-month road closure to put in a new concrete bridge span in September of 2005. Thus,… Continue reading Mosquito Lake Road

Washington State Route 14 ‘Gorge Highway’

On the glorious mid-October weekend that we celebrated the end of another riding season with our friends in Vancouver, Washington, we treated ourselves with an early Sunday return trip on SR14. SR14 is one of those highways that re-kindles my love of the old roads, and the craftsmanship and aesthetics that were built into them.… Continue reading Washington State Route 14 ‘Gorge Highway’