Washington Pass

With peaks shaped by glaciers, the scenery around Washington Pass on Hwy 20 through the Cascades is always breathtaking.  The ride up from the valley floor to the pass is not for those with dodgy transmissions!  The pass sits at 5,477', and the heavy snowfall in the winter means the highway is often closed from November to April.  Once at the top, though, the rest of the trip west is a lovely meander downhill, following Granite Creek down to Ross Lake and the Diablo Dam.