Pacific Northwest - Crossing the Cascades from the Seattle Area--Best routes?

Hello fellow PNW cyclists!

I grew up in the Snoqualmie valley, but I've been away from the area for awhile. I'm moving back this summer, and I'm curious about what routes you'd recommend for crossing the Cascades from the Seattle area, or even for doing a loop connecting Stevens and Snoqualmie passes.

I'm particularly concerned with avoiding the narrowest and most dangerous parts of the main highways. Having driven both ways, I know that I-90 is out of the question in most areas, and there are places I'd prefer to avoid on Highway 2. I'm aware of the Iron Goat trail and the Old Cascade Highway, but I'd like to get some good details from cyclists who've done this crossing a few times and can give me tips on the best roads for touring safely with my family.

I'd particularly like to know about any bike-friendly forestry roads (ie Jacks Pass--is this still open?) that might parallel the highways. What about Old I-90? Is there some sort of standard route that the Seattle Randonneurs use? Are there any good free campgrounds along the way that you'd recommend?

I'd be happy to hear any information you could share with me! Thanks a lot in advance.

there are very few alternate routes over the cascades. i'd count it at less than ten roads, including the highways, going over the spine of the cascades. it sounds like you are already clued into the details for alternate routes fairly well. safely with your family? do you have to leave from seattle proper or will you be driving to pickup a trailhead???

I-90 has 12 foot shoulders and is safe to ride all the way to the bridge over the columbia river by the gorge in my opinion - it isn't fun, but your family would be 'safe' there.


more details. the roads are few and you know them already. i'd be hard pressed to take a family camping up and over stevens pass on bikes from the seattle area, unless you could start at the old cascade highway. jack pass still puts you on us2 for a narrow stretch until you can pick up the old cascade road that goes behind deception falls.

Why not just explore the iron horse trail and connectors? the campgrounds there a little used in my opinion. but you want FREE camping too? hmmm........ mountain loop.

more parameters, more details. but theres little in the way of alternate routes regardless. a GREAT place, the absolute safest place to take a family to ride bikes near the crest of the cascades and some free or cheap camping in, would be to hop a ferry to stehekin for a summer vacation. hands down, the safest place in the cascades to go do some family bicycling. it would also be spectacular. but first you'd have to get to stehekin. :D

Is there some sort of standard route that the Seattle Randonneurs use? Are there any good free campgrounds along the way that you'd recommend?

I-90 and SR-2 are the standard routes the randos use. I wouldn't suggest SR-2 for a family tour since it gets a little on the narrow and ugly side in many spots; but I agree wholeheartedly with Bek about I-90. You can hop on at the Sunset Way ramp in Issaquah and go all the way to Spokane if you want to.

Hmmm. I have ridden on US-2 many times but never on I-90. So we think it is relatively safe to ride there?

Hmmm. I have ridden on US-2 many times but never on I-90. So we think it is relatively safe to ride there?

The "me" part of we thinks so. Don't try and take the lane or anything :lol:, but with the wide shoulder on I-90 it's easy enough to stay far away from traffic so that you don't even feel the breeze as they drive past.

Isn't there a side-road(s) leading up to Snoq. Pass that will take you from North Bend to the top without being on the interstate? Seems perhaps more family-friendly, even though 90 does indeed have nice wide shoulders.

But yeah that bridge over the Columbia on I-90, don't ride on that unless you're very daring! I did once, and almost died as a result. (zero shoulder, slightly uphill, buzzed by semi, ugh)

I've never done it, but what about the North Cascades highway? (20)

Isn't there a side-road(s) leading up to Snoq. Pass that will take you from North Bend to the top without being on the interstate? Seems perhaps more family-friendly, even though 90 does indeed have nice wide shoulders.


Well, you can ride the Iron Horse Trail (gravel), exit at Ollalie State Park ride the shoulder to Tinkham Road and ride Tinkham Rd. to the top.

The tunnel at the top is closed, otherwise your could just stay on the Iron Horse Trail all the way over the top.

do you have to leave from seattle proper or will you be driving to pickup a trailhead??

We'd be cycling door to door from our home in the Snoqualmie Valley. I'd be using the snoq.val. rails-to-trails to access any routes to the south, and forestry roads to access Monroe and SR-2 to the north.

Thanks for all your feedback, everyone. It seems like the I-90 corridor has the most alternatives for avoiding the main highway, and worst case scenario, it sounds like the shoulder is large enough.

haven't explored the options in great detail and never on a bike, but if you've got lots of time to kill, i bet riding south along the snoq valley trail could put you closer into greenwater and could get you to the vast wildernesses of the william o douglas wilderness and be able to putz around on FS roads all the way to Yakima, pret much, without a lot of paved travel. but the iron horse trail as far as the tunnel is more solidly a good route for some weekends of fun with the family id imagine.

if you can find your way to snohomish, of course, your options to travel all the way to arlington on the centennial trail, and then along the whitehorse trail there all the way to darrington which could then put you camping back along the enjoyable mountain loop highway, could put you into good woods without a lot of main road.

this route it's straightforward. if you were to continue back along the mountain loop to reconnect with the centennial trail outside of lake stevens the only traffic to speak of would be the run between say, verlot and granite falls, and granite falls back to the lake stevens part of the trail.

that would be the only 'challenging' roads section on the last fairly epic loop i mentioned. even this road exposure can be shortened with a run over the top of the hill between granite falls and east of verlot. tough road to follow though, that one, you'd need 7.5 minute maps for that one.

with kids, I'd avoid the weekend on the mountain loop section proper and go midweek though for much less traffic.

the mountain loop highway is one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the state

with kids, I'd avoid the weekend on the mountain loop section proper and go midweek though for much less traffic.

the mountain loop highway is one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the state

I did the Mountain Loop 200k rando route a few weekends ago and even though it was beautiful out, there was not much traffic on the Mtn. Loop Hwy.
Just remember, the 14 mile climb from the Darrington side of the loop to Barlow Pass is unpaved, so anything less than 28mm tires isn't suggested. If it's been really rainy, I'd go with 35's if you can.

Not mentioned much so far, but another good option is the North Cascades highway. I just did it on Tuesday going the east to west and it was a really nice ride. Traffic was light, the road surface is mostly good, and the shoulder is usually fairly wide. Granted, traffic might be a bigger issue on the weekend so do it mid week if you can.

The route to get there is pretty good too. From Snohomish take the Centennial trail to Arlington. You'll have a few miles of ugly traffic to get through Arlington, but then highway 530 to Darrington isn't bad and continuing on 530 from Darrington to Rockport is very nice. There you turn right and start the long climb to Rainy and Washington passes.

I'll agree with those who say I-90 is relatively safe, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it. Riding along with semis blasting by a couple of times a minute sort defeats the purpose of doing a trip like that.