North Cascades Scenic Byway

Way up in northern Washington, not far south of the Canadian border, a scenic stretch of highway beckons motorists, motorcycle riders, and bicyclists. As late as the 1970s, the path of the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) was still a remote, roadless wilderness of dramatic peaks and glacially scoured valleys.

Today you can drive this highway from about mid-April to mid-November each year. Part of the "Cascade Loop," this scenic byway skirting through the North Cascades National Park Complex offers stunning viewpoints of lakes, valleys, and peaks as well as access to trailheads, such as the Pacific Crest Trail.