![]() Watch for some rocks on the roads as they skirt steep cliffs and rocky hills. Looking down into the Grande Ronde River Canyon, its snaky traffic-free highway may make you want to turn your bike around and do it again. You are truly out in the wilderness with this ride far from any services or motorcycle repair places. This arid, hilly countryside holds some of the mightiest roads in the whole of the Pacific Northwest. Anyone looking on a map will mistakenly think this is a straight, rural road running along the Idaho border. What will be new to many veteran Washington state riders is the run from Clarkston to Enterprise, Oregon. Most Seattleites know about the North Cascades Highway and Hurricane Ridge. ![]() rees not sheared off or knocked down by the volcanic winds of Mount St. ![]() Riders should watch out for deer, uneven pavement and vacation traffic in these areas. Check out their million-dollar museum and pick up a parking permit so you can take the dirt road out to the tip of the contiguous 48. Be sure to stop at Joyce for gas and an ice cream bar at the funky store/gas station/post office, and snap a photo in front of the antique gas pump.ĭoes it count as choosing a sixth top ride if I make the twisty run to Neah Bay from Forks? Neah Bay is the proud home of the Makah Tribe and the most northwest point in Washington. For the return trip, I take Highway 113/112 through Joyce. After Hurricane Ridge, I ride toward Forks on scenic, curvy Highway 101 along Crescent Lake. I like to spend the night in Forks using one of the many inexpensive motels and eat dinner at the South North Garden Chinese Restaurant. Since it’s only about two hours from Seattle, pay your $5 park entry fee and experience this member of the Top Five Club. Make your way to Port Angeles to find the beginning of the Hurricane Ridge wonderland. Get directions and a parking permit at the Neah Bay gas station. The only way to see these islands-partly in the Pacific Ocean and partly in Puget Sound-is to ride to the end of the continent and hike a half mile into the woods. Unlike Highway 20 through the Northern Cascades, Hurricane Ridge Road demands more riding skill. I love to watch the climate zones change as I ascend this nearly perfect road. This certainly is not a racetrack, but even staying within the speed limit will cause pegs to scrape. Need any more convincing that this road seems designed for motorcyclists? If it weren’t for the deer, RVs and twitchy weather, it would be the diamond of my Top Five Rides. The secret is out on Hurricane Ridge Road-it has an elevation change of 400 to 5,240 feet in 17 miles. This circuit includes Hurricane Ridge, Crescent Lake, a night in Forks and the Puget Sound. Now the trees seem to cower in the part of Spirit Lake farthest from the mountain. I like to stop in Concrete to get a meal at the Cajun Bar & Grill, ride through the park and spend the night in Winthrop.Īt one point the entire lake was completely paved with floating trees. If you are camping, take everything you will need. Plentiful mosquitoes, deer and eye-grabbing views fill the park.įew services exist in the North Cascades National Park. Its piney breath will tell you secrets if you turn off your bike and walk a few hundred feet into the woods for a picnic. If the road is modern, the wilderness is ancient. Jade-green rivers and lakes play hide-and-seek with a rider. Naked peaks, glaciers and deep virgin forests abound. You take each turn like you’ve done it hundreds of times.Ī traveler can sightsee because the road is so relaxed. Now, as a result of modern engineering, its gentle sweeping curves whisper the same message to each rider who takes this road: You are the best rider ever. The rugged mountains blocked generations of road builders until the 1970s, when the current highway was completed. The North Cascade Highway from Sedro Wooley to Winthrop should be on everyone’s list of great roads. On the way to Rattlesnake Pass, the Grand Ronde River Canyon pumps adrenaline into riders enjoying the turns.
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