North Cascades Highway
Scenic Highway · Winthrop, Washington
The mountain section of State Route 20, crossing the North Cascades between Sedro-Woolley and Winthrop over Rainy Pass and Washington Pass, and widely held to be one of the finest mountain roads in the United States. It opened in 1972, the last major highway built across the Cascades, and it is shut by snow for roughly half of every year. In its open season it passes turquoise glacial reservoirs, the Liberty Bell massif and hundreds of square miles with no settlement of any kind.
State Route 20 at Washington Pass, Winthrop, Washington, 98862, United States
THE HIGHWAY CLOSES FOR THE WINTER between Ross Dam and Mazama, typically from late November until April or May. This is a scheduled annual closure driven by avalanche risk, not a weather event, and the reopening date shifts by weeks from year to year. WSDOT publishes the closure and reopening dates - check them before planning any trip between October and June. When open, the road is open at all hours.
North Cascades Highway on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos