White Pass Scenic Byway - Washington's Volcano Playground

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One of Washington's great travel experiences...

Yes, the White Pass Scenic Byway is a beautiful drive... But, the best reasons to visit the byway are for the things you can DO here, more than the things to SEE. From East to West, West to East, the byway offers World Class recreation.

For many visitors, from within the region or around the world, the byway is a route for exploring Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mt Adams. For those in the know - either canny locals or niche recreationists from around the country - there are amazing recreational opportunities all along the byway, in every season.

Trophy fishing the Cowlitz... catch and release fly fishing the Tieton... boating Riffe and Mayfield Lakes... hiking the Pacific Crest Trail... camping in dense forests... Mount Adams mountaineering... watching elk at Oak Creek Wildlife Area... wilderness horsepacking... backcountry skiing... rock climbing along the Tieton... downhill skiing at White Pass... snowmobiling... rafting the Tieton... steepcreeking the upper Cowlitz... scrambling to the Tatoosh lookout... mushrooming the Gifford Pinchot...

Visit again and again - there's plenty to see and do. There's no place like it in Washington State (or anywhere else for that matter...).

Washington’s Wildlife Trail

Rocky Mountain Elk, Bald eagles, Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep, Marmots, Spawning Salmon, Black Bear, and so many more... The White Pass Scenic Byway is Washington State's best roadway for wildlife watching opportunities. From low elevation lakes to sub-alpine ridges, wet west-side forests to the open steppes of eastern Washington, From Mount St. Helens' blast zone to Mount Rainier's lush meadows, US 12 and its adjacent public lands provide a range of wild habitats you won't find anywhere else in the state. In addition to high quality and diverse habitats, the corridor also provides many accessible locations for wildlife watching, making it relatively easy for visitors to see the sometimes elusive wild residents. Highlights for wildlife watching in the byway corridor include: the Cowlitz Wildlife Area's Swofford Pond and Kosmos units, Woods Creek Watchable Wildlife Area and Oak Creek Feeding Station.

Time to hit the road...

The White Pass Scenic Byway is 124 miles long, beginning at Mary's Corner (3 miles east of I-5 at Exit 68) and the intersection of US 12 and SR 410 at Naches. It is located in south central Washington State, about halfway between Puget Sound and the Columbia River. The west portal to the byway is near the communities of Centralia and Chehalis, and the east portal near Yakima, the largest city in central Washington.

The White Pass Scenic Byway passes through small communities, resource lands, river valleys, foothills, and alpine county. The region surrounding the byway includes privately-owned residential, agricultural, commercial and forestland properties, as well as state parks, wildlife areas, power projects with associated recreation lands, the Gifford Pinchot and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests and Mount Rainier National Park, Mt. St. Helens National Monument and Mount Adams Wilderness Area.

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