Originally Posted by
adventurepdx
I've ridden sections of old 195, and yeah, I would definitely get on that whenever the chance arises. 195 is fairly busy (but has wide shoulders from what I remember). Getting out of Spokane 195 is pretty much a freeway for maybe 15 miles (with no alternate/old hwy that I could see) until you get to Spangle and you can hop on old 195 south to Rosalia. At Rosalia the better option would be 271/27 south to Pullman. All quiet highways. (Taking 27 from Spokane Valley would mean avoiding the near-freeway section of 195, but I don't know how good/bad it is at that point.) The only thing is that the only camping I know of is at Kamiak Butte south of Palouse, which would be about 70 miles out of Spokane.
From there, you could head south to Lewiston/Clarkston and then hop US 12 west towards the Columbia. 12 isn't too bad, though there will be traffic since it's the only major east-west route in SE Washington. Shoulders were pretty ample on the sections I rode. 12 seemed to have more services than the other areas I rode through, including some campgrounds. 12 is part of Adventure Cycling's Lewis and Clark Route, so you can get the map for that section and it'll show you your options.
Thanks so much for the help. Great information. The lack of campsites is a concern. I do a lot of free camping here, but I think I'll be hesitant to try it out straight away on this trip, not having experience doing it in America.
Originally Posted by
mtnbud
This looks great. I love a good ferry ride while on a tour, and that's a nice climb over the Cascades to kick off the trip. Thanks for the suggestion. I think this looks like a promising route if I start late enough to miss the snow.