Drive guide
I-90 — Snoqualmie Pass to Spokane
9 things worth knowing along this corridor, in the order you meet them driving. Every one is sourced.
Sal reads these as you pass them, and answers when you ask.
Start a withby driveAlong the way
sightChange Creek Trestle
The Change Creek Trestle sits 5.5 miles from the Cedar Falls trailhead on a decommissioned railroad. It is a popular destination for rock climbers and hikers, with Change Creek far below.
Source: wta.org
historyMcLean’s Blowout
McLean’s Blowout, between the Change and Hull Creek viaducts on the Milwaukee Road, took its name from a contractor, Mr. McLean, who used too much dynamite and blew out the intended roadbed. An 8-span concrete bridge was then built to support the tracks.
Source: milwelectric.org
historyDeception Crags
Crowds and parking problems at Little Si sent climbers to other cliffs along Interstate 90 in the early 1990s, and in 1994 a mini-guide in Rock & Ice magazine announced the Exit 38 cliffs, also called Deception Crags. The Access Fund organized two trail projects there in the late 1990s.
Source: washingtonclimbers.org
historySE Homestead Valley Road
SE Homestead Valley Road at Exit 38 is old U.S. 10. The old highway runs through Olallie State Park to the westbound return ramp for Exit 38.
Source: aaroads.com
developmentWeeks Falls
Weeks Falls has a small run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy. Water drawn from the river above the falls runs through an underground channel to a single 4.3 MW generating unit.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
quirkSouth Fork Snoqualmie River
The South Fork Snoqualmie River runs for 30.8 miles from Source Lake. It hosts cutthroat trout and rainbow trout, but its waterfalls and Snoqualmie Falls further downstream keep anadromous (migratory) fish from using the river.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
sightDirty Harry's Balcony
The trail to Dirty Harry's Balcony carries rock work completed by Department of Natural Resources and WTA volunteer crews. The rocky overlook faces Mount Kent, McClellan Butte and Mount Washington, the south rim of the west entrance to Snoqualmie Pass.
Source: wta.org
historyMcClellan Butte
General George B McClellan visited the McClellan Butte area in 1853, surveying unsuccessfully for a route for rail lines through the Cascades. He chose the never-used Yakima Pass.
Source: wta.org
institutionIra Spring Trail
The Ira Spring Trail to Mason Lake takes its name from Ira Spring, who wrote many a guidebook and was WTA's primary supporter in its infancy. A plaque dedicated to him is embedded in a boulder near the trail's rocky crest at 4,320 feet.
Source: wta.org
Landscape you can see from the road
| Feature | Type |
|---|---|
| Abiel Peak | Summit |
| Alice Creek | Stream |
| Amabilis Mountain | Summit |
| Ames Lake | Lake |
| Annette Lake | Lake |
| Beacon Hill | Summit |
| Beaver Lake | Lake |
| Big Creek | Stream |
| Box Spring | Lake |
| Bullfrog Pond | Lake |
| Cabin Lake | Lake |
| Cable Creek | Stream |
Stops along this corridor
| Kind | Count |
|---|---|
| restaurant | 1144 |
| park | 453 |
| coffee | 400 |
| grocery | 388 |
| fast food | 371 |
| bar | 358 |
| peak | 30 |
| museum | 25 |
| viewpoint | 20 |
| memorial | 17 |
| attraction | 8 |
| waterfall | 5 |
| monument | 2 |
Exits along this corridor
Each one lists what is actually within a short detour, ordered by how far off the highway it is.
- Exit 52 — 17 places worth stopping for
- Exit 53 — 25 places worth stopping for
- Exit 54 — 8 places worth stopping for
- Exit 70 — 12 places worth stopping for
- Exit 71 — 15 places worth stopping for
- Exit 74 — 7 places worth stopping for
- Exit 84 — 104 places worth stopping for
- Exit 85 — 13 places worth stopping for
- Exit 106 — 26 places worth stopping for
- Exit 109 — 48 places worth stopping for
- Exit 110 — 5 places worth stopping for
- Exit 115 — 16 places worth stopping for
- Exit 136 — 10 places worth stopping for
- Exit 149 — 25 places worth stopping for
- Exit 151 — 5 places worth stopping for
- Exit 174 — 12 places worth stopping for
- Exit 175 — 25 places worth stopping for
- Exit 176 — 33 places worth stopping for
- Exit 179 — 23 places worth stopping for
- Exit 220 — 39 places worth stopping for
- Exit 221 — 36 places worth stopping for
- Exit 245 — 5 places worth stopping for
- Exit 272 — 13 places worth stopping for
- Exit 276 — 11 places worth stopping for
- Exit 277 — 12 places worth stopping for
- Exit 279 — 82 places worth stopping for
- Exit 280 — 559 places worth stopping for
- Exit 281 — 464 places worth stopping for
- Exit 282 — 95 places worth stopping for
- Exit 283 — 81 places worth stopping for
- Exit 285 — 63 places worth stopping for
- Exit 286 — 68 places worth stopping for
- Exit 287 — 85 places worth stopping for
- Exit 289 — 66 places worth stopping for
- Exit 291 — 102 places worth stopping for
- Exit 293 — 31 places worth stopping for
- Exit 294 — 39 places worth stopping for
- Exit 296 — 72 places worth stopping for
- Exit 299 — 22 places worth stopping for
- Exit 1 — 46 places worth stopping for
Where to eat along this corridor
Town by town, what is actually within a short detour of the highway.
- Bellevue — 59 places to eat
- Cle Elum — 24 places to eat
- Ellensburg — 5 places to eat
- Issaquah — 108 places to eat
- Liberty Lake — 18 places to eat
- Mercer Island — 34 places to eat
- Moses Lake — 11 places to eat
- North Bend — 15 places to eat
- Seattle — 71 places to eat
- Spokane — 49 places to eat
- Spokane Valley — 74 places to eat
Coverage
withby narrates 0 map cells on this corridor today.
Sal reads these as you pass them, and answers when you ask.
Start a withby drive