Featured in Sunset magazine as the best mountain road in the West. The pictures look amazing, and there are a number of nice campgrounds on RV Park Reviews. We are considering going within the next month or two.

This is a route promoted by various Chambers to promote business. It uses US2 and WA20 to cross the Cascades, and US97 (and another state road) to connect them on the east side. In the more populated west side there are various options, including I5, WA9, and the drive along Whidbey Island.Most of these roads have been discussed on this board.The latest was about a temporary closure on WA20 due to a mud slide last Sunday evening. The east end was also in the news with fores fires. All roads are open now, but you will see fire scarring.There was also a recent thread asking about the fastest route from Calif to the North Cascades Park - which WA20 passes through.Any specific questions?What kind of camping do you want? hiking? other recreation?

Great loop! Not sure which pace to are going to start. I would wait until late Sep so the trees should be in good fall colors. Several little towns to stop at. Leavenworth in a Bavarian theme town. Winthrop is a western motif.Fires around Peteros has screwed that area up for years to come.Verify that any campgrounds in eastern WA are operating in Mid-late Sep as some close down Labor Day.On the WA 20 side make sure you watch your fuel. Not much between Sedro Wooley and Winthrop.

We've done it multiple times. It is nice, although between the fires and mudslides the place is kinda a wreck at the moment. It'll probably be better when you come up. Most everything along there is pretty RV friendly. Some of our favorite spots are Smallwoods Farm, Wenatchee Confluence State Park, Perrygin Lake State Park and Winthrop.

I can't help with commercial campgrounds. But for others (working off the top of my head):Washington State Parks (check the state website):http://www.parks.wa.gov/838/North-Central-Region- Lake Wenatchee- Lincoln Rock on the Columbia- Alta Lake near Peteros (some fire damage)- Perrygin Lake near Winthrop- Rockport (day use only) (very old growth)- Rasar (on west side of WA20)- several on Whidbey Island(there may a couple of county operated parks along the Columbia River)National Forest (western ones start closing in Sept; eastern ones remain open for deer hunting season)- several along US2 west of Stevens Pass- several east of Stevens Pass - several along WA20 east of Washington PassNational Park- several in North Cascades NP, west side. Cheapest of the public campgrounds.http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/camping.htm

A Lake park was damaged during the fire.Rockport has the steel-header park that has some basic hook ups.Nearly every dam on the Columbia has some sort of recreational park that has RV sites.If you have not been in this part of WA, take a side trip to Grand Coulee Dam.

Anyone done the Cascade Loop in Washington state?

16 Replies

paulj
Explorer II
Aug 22, 2014
The latest WSDOT notice is that there is a detour for WA153 on local roads.
enblethen
Nomad
Aug 22, 2014
Going to have these problems until vegetation grows back to hold the soil.
WSDOT Link
louiskathy
Explorer
Aug 22, 2014
From WSDOT this morning:

SR 20 Both Directions - SR 20 and SR 153 are closed from Twisp, milepost 204, east on SR 20 to milepost 230, Old US 97 HYW near Okanagan. SR 153 is closed from Twisp, south to Carlton, MP 22, due to mud and rocks across the highway. These closures will be assessed in daylight hours by WSDOT to determine a re-opening time frame. There is currently no power in the area as power lines are still down. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Last Updated: 8/21/2014 11:55 PM
mtdew999
Explorer
Aug 22, 2014
Done it in a mid size truck and 18' trailer, nice, fit everywhere.
enblethen
Nomad
Aug 21, 2014
Iwas closed for nearly two weeks through the canyon. Had to detour around by Plains.
profdant139
Explorer II
Aug 21, 2014
Paul, you are right -- speaking as a southern Californian, if there is a green tree now and then, and a few streams that actually have water in them, that's heavenly!
paulj
Explorer II
Aug 21, 2014
I thought the closure on US2 was a month ago
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27834452
I can't find images of what you would see now. I doubt if it's enough to spoil anyone's visit (esp. someone from California).
enblethen
Nomad
Aug 20, 2014
There was another fire which closed US 2 through Tumwater canyon a week or so ago.
Carlton Complex fire burnt part of Peteros to the ground. Came down to the Methow River and Columbia.
paulj
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2014
MaverickBBD wrote:
.. Bet the pics you saw were pre Carlton Complex fire. ...

But that fire was mostly in the dry hills east of Twisp and parts of WA153. The magazine probably didn't have any photos of that area, except for the quaint street of Winthrop.

There's may also be scarring across the river from US2 as it passes through Tumwater Canyon. But you can also see burnt trees from a fire in that canyon about a decade ago.
MaverickBBD
Explorer
Aug 20, 2014
Done it many, many times? Absolutely beautiful. Bet the pics you saw were pre Carlton Complex fire. You can add the portion of Hwy 20 down Whidbey Island and then take Pt. Townsend ferry to really get the feel of mountains to ocean.