Places to see

photo by PMR You can watch wheat being ground into flour, or corn being made into cornmeal, and then bring some home for dinner!

Columbia River Falls - there are many on the Oregon side. All are very beautiful!

Mt. Hood - Timberline Lodge is beautiful! There are things to do all year around.

Check out The Columbian's list of nice places to drive to around Washington - some have already been mentioned in this web page:

Drive-Up Vistas
GREGG HERRINGTON Columbian staff writer
   So, backpacking into Washington's remote high country isn't your idea of a nice summer vacation.
   Even a day hike requires more energy than you'd care to expend.
   Why, you wonder, would anyone rough it when there are cities to visit and resorts and restaurants open to serve you?
   Or, maybe you would like to hike, but age and physical limitations prevent it.
   Still, you're attracted to the vistas for which the state is famous.
   Well, here they are: Washington's drive-up vistas, spectacular views you can enjoy from the car, or with an easy walk of just a minute or two.
   Save this for your summer driving, and viewing, pleasure.

   SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON
   CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT: The state's entire coast line offers plenty of rugged drive-up views, but perhaps the most dramatic is in this corner of the state where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean
   From the bluff high above the water, at Fort Canby State Park, you see the river and its bar, the jetties and ocean-going ships.
   From various places on the bluff, the skyline of Astoria, Ore., is visible to the south and the Long Beach Peninsula to the north.
   An added attraction is the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center at the park. There's no charge to park at the viewpoint lots, but admission is charged elsewhere in the park.
   Getting there: About 115 miles west of Vancouver, via Longview and state Highway 4 along the north shore of the Columbia to Ilwaco, then 3 miles south to the state park.

   CAPE HORN: This is the most dramatic car-window vista within a half-hour's drive of Vancouver that's in the state. Period.
   The highest point on the westernmost 100 miles of state Highway 14, it offers a spectacular east-looking view of the Columbia River, with 848-foot Beacon Rock visible on the Washington side.
   There's space for just a few vehicles to pull over, and there are no kiosks, interpretive signs or restrooms.
   If a view like this were close to Seattle it would be one of the best-known spots in the state, probably with a bigger parking area and amenities.
   Getting there: East on state Highway 14, it's just 25 miles from downtown Vancouver. The road climbs in the final 2 or 3 miles to the cape, which is the southernmost point in the state if you don't count islands in the Columbia.
   Make a loop trip by continuing east 17 miles to the Bridge of the Gods and crossing to the Oregon side for the return.

   WHITE SALMON: Views of the Columbia River, Oregon and Mount Hood are free for the taking from the bluff that is home to this western Klickitat County town.
   Getting there: East from Vancouver, it's 66 miles on state Highway 14 to the town of Bingen (or via Interstate 84 on the Oregon side and cross at the Hood River Bridge to Bingen).
   At Bingen's blinking traffic light, go left up the hill on Highway 141 (Jewett Boulevard) into White Salmon.
   One viewpoint is about a mile past downtown on Highway 141/Jewett to the intersection with Eyrie and Lincoln. Turn left on Eyrie and soak it up.

   CASCADE MOUNTAINS
   JOHNSTON RIDGE: Unique in the 48 contiguous states, it features a drive-up view into the mouth of a volcano that occasionally still steams.
   Moreover, this Mount St. Helens vista is in our back yard.
   Here's how the AAA magazine "Western Journey" describes the view:
   The "gaping crater, with its bulging lava dome, towers just 4.5 miles southeast, presiding over a gray, barren plain cut into by stark canyons.
   "In the foreground, the shattered remains of trees protrude from the ash. It's hard to imagine this was once a majestic forest."
   After taking in the view, visit the Johnston Ridge Visitors Center. It is one of three centers along Highway 504 operated by either the U.S. Forest Service or the state of Washington.
   Getting there: North on Interstate 5 to the Castle Rock exit No. 49, which is 49 miles north of the Columbia River. Head east on 504 for 5 miles to the Silver Lake Visitors Center, 43 miles from I-5 to the Coldwater Ridge center and 52 miles to Johnston Ridge.
   Admission is $3 for any one of the centers or $6 for an all-day pass to all three. Youngsters 5-15 are $1 and $2 respectively.

   TAKHLAKH LAKE: "This is our best lake-to-mountain viewpoint in the forest, bar none," says Jim Wasden of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest headquarters in Vancouver.
   "Mount Adams looms at your fingertips and the lake is right in front of you. It's what we call a 'wow' location. It's almost overpowering."
   This isn't a casual Sunday afternoon drive, but still can be done as a day trip. The easiest route from here is east from Woodland through Yale and Cougar on Forest Service roads 90, 23 and 2329 respectively. Allow two hours and 45 minutes one way.
   For more information and to inquire about getting a Gifford Pinchot map, call forest headquarters at 360-891-5001.

   CHINOOK PASS: Washington's most underrated route over the Cascades is state Highway 410 from Tacoma and Enumclaw over Chinook Pass (elevation 5,430 feet) to Yakima, skirting Mount Rainier on the north and east.
   About 1/4-mile short of the pass, on the west side, is 8-acre Tipsoo Lake, which is ice-free only a few weeks a year. For the picture-postcard view, walk on the paths to the back side of the lake and look across the water toward the looming Mount Rainier.
   Then drive up to the pass itself, under the log-pedestrian bridge that carries the Pacific Crest Scenic Trail and enjoy the sweeping easterly view across forested canyons and down the American River drainage.
   Getting there: Go north on I-5 to Exit 127 and east on state Highway 512 past Puyallup. Just before Sumner, follow signs to Highway 410, Enumclaw and Yakima. Be sure to gas up.

   CLEAR CREEK: Another route over the Cascades to Yakima is via 4,500-foot White Pass on U.S. Highway 12. The Clear Creek overlook is 2.5 miles east of the summit.
   The view point is less than 50 yards from the parking area.
   Clear Creek plunges over the brink into a wooded grotto more than 300 feet below. To the east are the Tieton Basin and Rimrock and Clear lakes.
   Getting there: North on I-5 to Mile Post 68 (10 miles south of Chehalis) and east on U.S. Highway 12 through Mossy Rock, Morton, Randle and Packwood to the pass. Make a loop by continuing to Yakima and coming home via Goldendale and the Columbia Gorge.

   MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK: You could send 10 people through Mount Rainier National Park and each would list a different "best drive-up view."
   Points at or en route to the popular Paradise Lodge on the south side would make many of those lists. Less well-known is Sunrise Visitors Center at 6,400 feet, the terminus of the highest paved road in the state.
   The best views might be from the last hairpin turn, 1-mile short of Sunrise, which this year opens June 28.
   Getting there: Get to Enumclaw in southeast King County (via Puyallup on highways 512 and 410 or Auburn on Highway 164 or Renton on Highway 169). East from Enumclaw on 410 approximately 35 miles to the turnoff to Sunrise in Mount Rainier National Park. Then it's 10 miles up a paved, steep and scenic road to the top.

   LIBERTY BELL: The North Cascades (Highway 20) route through the mountains is the state's most spectacular drive for its length. You won't need to leave the car to be awed.
   But there's a good view of castle-like Liberty Bell Mountain and other peaks just a short walk from the parking area at 5,477-foot Washington Pass.
   Getting there: From I-5 at Burlington it is 67 miles east to Rainy Pass (4,855 feet) and another 5 miles to Washington Pass (5,477 feet) and the viewpoint.
   Many travelers make the trip as a loop, continuing on to Winthrop (the old-West theme town) and returning to I-5 via Wenatchee and the Bavarian-theme town of Leavenworth on U.S. 2.

   HARTS PASS: At 6,197 feet, Harts Pass, on the eastern flank of the North Cascades and the south edge of the Pasayten Wilderness, is on the highest public road, paved or unpaved, in the state.
   There are great views to the south and west, including North Cascades glaciers and snow-capped Mount Baker and into Canada.
   You don't need a four-wheel-drive vehicle, but neither do you want a full-length van or super low-slung car.
   Like most high-mountain U.S. Forest Service roads, this one isn't for the faint-hearted flat-lander.
   "It's a fairly good, single-lane dirt road with pull-outs" to let oncoming traffic pass, says a Forest Service spokesman. "But drive slowly and be careful on the corners."
   Getting there: This is easiest as a side trip for motorists on the scenic North Cascades cross-state Highway 20.
   From the community of Mazama, which is 13 miles west of the old-West style town of Winthrop, take Forest Service Road 5400 and climb 23 miles in about 45 minutes to Harts Pass.
   Views already are great, but go another 11/2 miles and park near a green gate. From there, you can walk about 150 yards up to the old Slate Peak Lookout at 7,440 feet for the creme de la creme of views.

   WESTERN WASHINGTON
   ARTISTS POINT: This site in Whatcom County, 11 miles south of the Canadian border, isn't well known in this end of the state.
   But, at 5,140 feet elevation, it offers one of Washington's best mountain views from a paved highway, with plenty of deciduous trees, Mount Baker and photogenic Lake Shuksan all part of the scene.
   It doesn't open until all the snow melts, sometimes as late as early August.
   Getting there: From Bellingham, 90 miles north of Seattle, it's 62 miles east on state Highway 542 via the communities of Deming, Kendall and Glacier to the road's end.

   SEATTLE: The view from the Seattle Space Needle is fantastic, but the elevator ride is $12.50 round trip for adults.
   For a free classic Seattle view, including the waterfront, Elliott Bay, the Space Needle, downtown, and Mount Rainier, try Kerry Park and Viewpoint on Queen Anne Hill.
   The city's Web page says the park, open 24 hours, is especially popular at sunset when lights begin to come on and "it becomes almost a fantasy scene, with brightly lit ferries gliding across the water and the Space Needle shining from its 500-foot pedestal."
   Getting there: From the west side of the Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle, follow Queen Anne Avenue north up the hill to Valley Street, and then west two blocks.

HURRICANE RIDGE: Better drive-up views might exist in the Olympic Mountains, via Forest Service Roads, but Hurricane Ridge is convenient to Port Angeles and U.S. Highway 101. Besides the sweeping views of the Olympic Mountains, you're likely to encounter deer near the parking lot.
Getting there: In Port Angeles, ask anyone the way or watch for signs to Hurricane Ridge. It's 17 miles south of town, in Olympic National Park. The road is wide and paved. There's a visitors center at the top.

   MOUNT CONSTITUTION: This 2,409-foot peak in Moran State Park on Orcas Island is the highest point in the San Juan Islands and provides probably the best view of Puget Sound.
   You see other islands, the Cascade and Olympic mountains, and the cities of Vancouver, B.C., (on a really clear day), Anacortes and Bellingham.
   Getting there: From the ferry landing at Orcas, drive clockwise around the crescent-shaped island to the state park, then 20 minutes up the mountain on a winding, paved road.

   MOUNT ERIE: Here's one view virtually in downtown Anacortes for those who can't get out to Orcas Island.
   A paved road runs to the 1,270-foot summit and its sweeping views of the San Juans, Olympics, Cascades and Vancouver Island, Canada.
   Getting there: It's 60 miles north of Seattle on I-5 to Mount Vernon, then 18 miles via state highways 536 and 20 to Anacortes. Inquire in town about Mount Erie.

MOUNT WALKER: From this 2,804-foot-high point off U.S. Highway 101 there's a fantastic easterly view of lowlands, Hood Canal, the Kitsap Peninsula, Puget Sound, Seattle and the Cascade Range, including Mount Rainier.
Getting there: Leave I-5 at Olympia and travel about 50 miles on U.S. 101 through Shelton and Hoodsport to the Mount Walker turnoff. If you get to the town of Quilcene, you've gone too far.

   CENTRAL WASHINGTON
   HORSE HEAVEN HILLS: For an off-the-beaten-path view, give this spot south of Prosser a try the next time you're headed to the Tri-Cities.
   Just before dropping down into the fertile Yakima River Valley, a patchwork of vegetable farms, orchards and vineyards unfolds before you.
   The scene is framed at the top by the barren Rattlesnake Hills. On a really clear day, snow-capped Mount Adams and Mount Rainier are visible.
   Getting there: East on state Highway 14 almost 170 miles up the Columbia Gorge to the community of Patterson (at the junction with state Highway 221). Or, take the Oregon side and cross into Washington at Biggs Junction on U.S. Highway 97, then east 66 miles to Patterson.
   Follow Highway 221 north. The view comes just before dropping down into Prosser, which is 26 miles from the Columbia River, 50 miles from Yakima and 28 from Richland.

MANASTASH RIDGE: A more easily accessible view that also celebrates agriculture offers a panorama of Ellensburg and the Kittitas Valley from Manastash ridge to the south.
Getting there: North on I-82 from Yakima about 25 miles, up and over Umtanum Ridge and then over Manastash Ridge. The pull-off viewpoint is well marked. There's a separate pull-off for southbound traffic.

   WANAPUM VISTA: This one's most rewarding if you're westbound, coming home via Interstate 90 from Spokane or somewhere in dry Eastern Washington and you need a Columbia River "fix."
   The pull-off offers a grand view of the wide river backed up behind Wanapum Dam, which is out of sight to the south, and the Vantage Bridge, which you're about to cross.
   Two easy side trips from Wanapum Vista are the huge sculpture "Grandfather Cuts Loose the Horses," on the hill above you, and the Gingko Petrified Forest across the Columbia, immediately west of the bridge and just north of I-90.
   Getting there: On I-90, it's 30 miles east of Ellensburg and about 40 miles west of Moses Lake, on the hill above the river's east side.

   OHME GARDENS: This one's an exception to our "drive-up viewpoint" requirement.
   You don't have to be a serious walker to enjoy this. But to fully partake of the gardens and the spectacular views of the Columbia River, Wenatchee Valley and the dry Eastern Washington landscape, you should be willing to spend 45 minutes and walk the path.
   It's 400 feet short of 1 mile, with benches along the way to sit and enjoy the views. It's not suited for high heels, strollers or wheelchairs. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for ages 7-17. Younger kids admitted free.
   Getting there: From Eastbound U.S. 2/U.S. 97 (from Stevens or Blewett passes) approach Wenatchee but do not turn into city center.
   Follow Okanogan/Spokane US 97/US 2 signs and watch for the exit to Confluence State Park/Ohme Gardens.

   EASTERN WASHINGTON
   MOUNT SPOKANE: This spot and Dry Falls (listed below) are arguably the co-champions for the Eastern Washington title of best drive-up view.
   A Mount Spokane State Park Ranger says once the paved road is clear of snow, usually in late June, the parking lot at the 5,883-foot summit offers "fantastic, sweeping, 360-degree views" that include the Palouse to the south, the Selkirk Mountains, Northeast Washington and Canada, Idaho and even the Rocky Mountains.
   Getting there: Travel about 45 minutes from Spokane via northbound U.S. 2 and state Highway 206 to the park, then eight miles to the summit.

   HIGHEST PASS: What's the highest pass in Washington on the state or interstate highway system?
   You'd think it's in the Cascade Mountains, but you'd be wrong.
   It's Sherman Pass in the Kettle River Range of the Okanogan Highlands, where state Highway 20 reaches 5,575 feet.
   The viewpoint itself is less than a 1/4-mile east of the Sherman Pass summit at a point locals call "the Hairpin."
   A paved, handicapped-accessible path leads about 100 feet to an overlook with vistas of the Columbia River, coulees and a deciduous forest. It's best in the fall.
   Getting there: Unless you just happen to be driving between Republic and Kettle Falls, you won't get to Sherman Pass without considerable extra effort.
   Kettle Falls is 81 miles north of Spokane via U.S. Highway 395. From KF, go west on Highway 20 over the Columbia River toward Republic. Sherman Pass is about 21 miles from KF.

   GRAND COULEE: The Columbia River has been called the power belt of the Northwest, so how about a view of its most famous and biggest link, Grand Coulee Dam?
   From 626 feet above the Columbia River, Crown Point Overlook Park offers views of the dam and Lake Roosevelt behind it, Lake Rufus Woods downstream and the Grand Coulee itself, which is the scoured-out canyon that carried the Columbia River until its course was diverted during the ice age.
   Crown Point also is a popular place to watch the nightly laser light shows on the face of the dam during the summer.
   Getting there: Head 2 miles west of the dam on state Highway 174, then follow signs 1 mile on a side road to the viewpoint.

   DRY FALLS: If there were a prize for the state's most intriguing and spectacular geographic wonder, this might win.
   The "falls" in Sun Lakes State Park are bare cliffs now. But this was once the path of the Columbia River and is thought to have been the largest waterfall on earth, 3.5 miles across and 400 feet high.
   The falls were created by the ancient Missoula Floods when ice age dams in present day western Montana melted and enough water to fill Lake Ontario poured through into the Idaho panhandle and much of Eastern Washington on its way to the ocean.
   The torrents rearranged the landscape along the way.
   The river's course later would revert to its present path, leaving the falls dry. The whole story is there at the visitors center and from the observation deck.
   Getting there: It's easiest if you're going to Grand Coulee Dam anyway or traveling between Wenatchee and Spokane on U.S. Highway 2.
   It's on state Highway 17, 1-mile south of Highway 2 and 26 miles north of Ephrata and 20 miles north of Soap Lake.

   STEPTOE BUTTE: A geologic oddity, the bald peak is a lone sentinel 3,612 feet above sea level and about 1,100 feet above the surrounding terrain. It was named for Army Col. E.J. Steptoe, whose troops used it as a reconnaissance point for monitoring local Indians.
   Now a state park with day-use facilities, it offers a rooftop view into Idaho, the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse and the Blue Mountains. It is said that on clear days the view stretches 200 miles.
   Getting there: South from Spokane on U.S. 195 about 33 miles to Rosalia, then state Highway 271 for 10 miles (through Oakesdale) to a county road to the south. Watch for signs.
   The road up the butte is 3.5 miles. Total distance from Spokane: 50 miles. The trip is easiest for motorists already traveling between Spokane and Colfax or Pullman.

Sources: These drive-up viewpoints in Washington are the author's recommendations based on years of personal observation, plus much-appreciated input from AAA-Washington, The Spokane Spokesman-Review, the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce, the Washington State Parks Department, the Gifford Pinchot, Colville and the Wenatchee-Okanogan national forests, and the Vancouver office of the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Priscila Martins-Read

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