Sherman Pass Scenic Byway (WA-20 East)

292 mi
Length
5
Verified stops
5,460 ft
High point
Scenic
Road type

The eastern segment of WA-20 runs 88 miles from Republic east over Sherman Pass (5,575 ft) — Washington's highest year-round maintained highway — through the Colville National Forest to Kettle Falls on the Columbia. This stretch is fully distinct from the North Cascades Highway (WA-20 west); the two segments do not directly connect. Designated the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway, the road features steep but paved grades, minimal traffic, and dense Colville National Forest scenery. An interpretive site at the summit provides wildfire history context for the 1988 White Mountain Fire that shaped the surrounding forest.

What you'll hit along the way.

Rider-verified stops, overlooks, fuel, and the corners worth knowing about — in the order you'll meet them.

Mile 0.0

Burlington

A convenient starting point in the Skagit Valley with easy access to fuel, food, and supplies before heading east.

Mile 60.0

Newhalem

A small Seattle City Light company town nestled in the Skagit River gorge, offering a quiet stop amid dramatic canyon scenery.

Mile 60.0

"Old Number 6" Seattle City Light Locomotive

A historic electric locomotive on display that reflects the engineering era that brought power infrastructure to this remote valley.

Mile 225.0

Wauconda

A small high-country community near Sherman Pass that marks the transition from dense forest to open eastern Washington terrain.

Mile 285.0

Kettle Falls

The eastern terminus of the byway, a small Columbia River town with services and a natural endpoint for the crossing.

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