New to exploring PNW

[First Settler]

Hey OB,

I am relatively new to exploring the PNW after moving here from N. California. My wife, daughter and I just got our Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk a few months ago and are ready to start bookmarking some locations for the upcoming year.

With the snow season coming, I am sure a lot of trails and camping locations are closed. We are a snowboard/ski family so we are excited to start heading up to Stevens Pass and such. But as the new year comes and the sun starts to come out does anybody have any thoughts, advice, maps, etc to check out? We are open to just about anything. My daughter (7 years old) said to me that she wants to start fishing this summer so, that will be a part of the new adventures.

The first week we got the Trailhawk we took a drive up around Spada Lake just to get a feel for the car. I was able to throw it into 4Low with the dealer plate still on lol. No major mods or anything at the moment, besides a roof rack for the snowboards. We wanted to take a trip through Stampede Pass but the weather beat us to it and we drive alone so I didn't feel 100% safe without having the proper gear with us with the kiddo. I also was looking in Naches Trail? It seems like a fun ride with some bigger tires and better clearance. Other than that I can't really get a good map route on Gaia or AllTrails. So I figured I would just start asking around and maybe make a few friends along the way.

Oh, another thing is that we are going to try and make our way through the 90 and over to Couer d'Alene Idaho and Whitefish Montana at the end of February. Any advice on that would be 100% helpful! I am a little nervous about the winter weather as this will be our first experience heading east like that.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and thoughts!

 

[M Rose]

Welcome to the PNW, there are a lot of winter trails open. I’ve done I90 in February before, just like any other road, watch for ice, and take your time.

 

[First Settler]

Welcome to the PNW, there are a lot of winter trails open. I’ve done I90 in February before, just like any other road, watch for ice, and take your time.

Awesome thanks so much! Do you have any favorite winter trails you would recommend to a newbie?

 

[Smileyshaun]

It’s not an over landing but if you’re heading I 90 maybe think about crossing over and heading to Leavenworth Washington some day . It’s an amazing little town just a bit crowded during the Christmas season.

One great thing about the Pacific Northwest is just drive somewhere pick up gravel road and see where it goes I’ve been here my whole life and I just barely scratch the surface of all the forest service roads around here, If you want something a little more traveled and good for a first real Overland trip look into the Washington backcountry discovery route has some really nice views and campsites along the way.

 

[Smileyshaun]

A good bit of advice before you head out for the day weekend whatever tell two different people in two different households your planned root or at least the areas you’re heading towards and when you should be back. And not a terrible idea to invest into a decent bow saw or something of the sorts And a strap you don’t mind getting filthy and dirty during the winter and into spring you’ll find a lot of trees and branches down on forest service roads most the time you can just hook a strap to them and pull them out of your way. It’s only happened to me a couple of times over many years of exploring but I have driven down a forest service road and then on the way back there was a tree across the road blocking my return trip .

also be flexible on your route, gates get locked , roads wash out , trees ect ect can cause you to backtrack on a road that looked open on a map .

 

[Billiebob]

oh to be young again

Only one bit of advice from an old bugger like me. And you likely always do this anyways. Alawys expect to be stranded for a few days and pack accordingly. Some food, chocolate??? warm clothes, water, gas up when at the half tank mark.... not empty. And tell someone where you are going, check in each day.

I miss backcountry skiing.

 

[First Settler]

Thanks, everybody for the advice and tips. Also, that photo is amazing! Really looking forward to exploring around here with the family. We have been looking at some places to camp around WA and maybe even Bend, Whitefish. I would love to do some type of loop and make our way over to Yellowstone at the end of the summer. I am trying to find some good tent camping locations close to some fishing, thoughts on anywhere around WA that has that? At this point just give me a map and a dart haha.

 

[M Rose]

Where at in Washington are you? It would help us recommend places to go and see...

 

[First Settler]

I am over in the western WA area, NEish of Lake Washington. But super happy to drive just about anywhere around WA, OR, ID, MT, Canada, etc. Was actually thinking about maybe driving over to the San Juan island, IDK if there is much over there to explore but sounds like fun. I also really want to drive over to the Olympic national park.

 

[M Rose]

Olympic National park has some sights to see.

 

[M Rose]

Gabriel Bozeman is your regional representative, he should be able to help you more than me

 

[Gabriel Bozeman]

Welcome! There is a lot of good places in the Cascades. The Mt. Baker and Mt. St. Helens areas are some of my favorite. Rainer is also a good place to explore.

 

[Gabriel Bozeman]

Hey OB,

I am relatively new to exploring the PNW after moving here from N. California. My wife, daughter and I just got our Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk a few months ago and are ready to start bookmarking some locations for the upcoming year.

With the snow season coming, I am sure a lot of trails and camping locations are closed. We are a snowboard/ski family so we are excited to start heading up to Stevens Pass and such. But as the new year comes and the sun starts to come out does anybody have any thoughts, advice, maps, etc to check out? We are open to just about anything. My daughter (7 years old) said to me that she wants to start fishing this summer so, that will be a part of the new adventures.

The first week we got the Trailhawk we took a drive up around Spada Lake just to get a feel for the car. I was able to throw it into 4Low with the dealer plate still on lol. No major mods or anything at the moment, besides a roof rack for the snowboards. We wanted to take a trip through Stampede Pass but the weather beat us to it and we drive alone so I didn't feel 100% safe without having the proper gear with us with the kiddo. I also was looking in Naches Trail? It seems like a fun ride with some bigger tires and better clearance. Other than that I can't really get a good map route on Gaia or AllTrails. So I figured I would just start asking around and maybe make a few friends along the way.

Oh, another thing is that we are going to try and make our way through the 90 and over to Couer d'Alene Idaho and Whitefish Montana at the end of February. Any advice on that would be 100% helpful! I am a little nervous about the winter weather as this will be our first experience heading east like that.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and thoughts!

Keep an eye out on Rally Point and the forums for meetups and trips. Just did one in the N Cascades with 10 guys. Super fun.

Hiking Project is a good app for finding hidden places and neat sites to see. Other than that, I mostly find out about things from word of mouth.

 

[MrWilsonWJ]

Thanks, everybody for the advice and tips. Also, that photo is amazing! Really looking forward to exploring around here with the family. We have been looking at some places to camp around WA and maybe even Bend, Whitefish. I would love to do some type of loop and make our way over to Yellowstone at the end of the summer. I am trying to find some good tent camping locations close to some fishing, thoughts on anywhere around WA that has that? At this point just give me a map and a dart haha.

For tent camping and fishing you can head up highway 410 (already closed for the winter) to find bumping lake lots of forest roads to explore and hiking up there and an old mining town (copper city) you can drive up to. From there head towards Naches to get to highway 12 to get to rim rock and clear lake there is a few other little lakes you could fish along the highway. I recommend going into Naches and stopping at the brewery on the east end of town, family friendly good pizza and beer with a big lawn to hangout on and an ice cream food truck. (Almost) Endless trails off of highway 12 ranging from gravel roads to "FML why did I go down here". And camping off 12 is plentiful with FS site to remote stuff off the trail, 410 is the same way. Plenty to explore in PNW, all depends on what you're looking for.

 

[First Settler]

For tent camping and fishing you can head up highway 410 (already closed for the winter) to find bumping lake lots of forest roads to explore and hiking up there and an old mining town (copper city) you can drive up to. From there head towards Naches to get to highway 12 to get to rim rock and clear lake there is a few other little lakes you could fish along the highway. I recommend going into Naches and stopping at the brewery on the east end of town, family friendly good pizza and beer with a big lawn to hangout on and an ice cream food truck. (Almost) Endless trails off of highway 12 ranging from gravel roads to "FML why did I go down here". And camping off 12 is plentiful with FS site to remote stuff off the trail, 410 is the same way. Plenty to explore in PNW, all depends on what you're looking for.

Awesome we will for sure be doing this over the summer then! Camping, mild off-roading, fishing, family-friendly brewery, and pizza...? I mean, what more can I ask for haha. Sounds great! Thanks so much for the suggestion. Ideally over the next year what we are looking for are places to go off the road a bit, go camping somewhere, fish a few days would be great with the little one and just explore. I have a KL Trailhawk so we are expecting to go onto anything too challenging but... it can hold its own. I don't mind pushing it haha.

 

[Gabriel Bozeman]

Thanks, everybody for the advice and tips. Also, that photo is amazing! Really looking forward to exploring around here with the family. We have been looking at some places to camp around WA and maybe even Bend, Whitefish. I would love to do some type of loop and make our way over to Yellowstone at the end of the summer. I am trying to find some good tent camping locations close to some fishing, thoughts on anywhere around WA that has that? At this point just give me a map and a dart haha.

Not sure if Baker Lake has good fishing, but there are some neat campsites up along Baker Lake Rd.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Check out this youtube channel, lot of stuff on the east side.

Coyote Works

My quest to spend as much time in the remote back country as I can, sharing my adventures with anyone who enjoys them. Overland car camping in my Jeep Wrangl...

www.youtube.com

 

[MrWilsonWJ]

Awesome we will for sure be doing this over the summer then! Camping, mild off-roading, fishing, family-friendly brewery, and pizza...? I mean, what more can I ask for haha. Sounds great! Thanks so much for the suggestion. Ideally over the next year what we are looking for are places to go off the road a bit, go camping somewhere, fish a few days would be great with the little one and just explore. I have a KL Trailhawk so we are expecting to go onto anything too challenging but... it can hold its own. I don't mind pushing it haha.

One thing I forgot to mention is if you make yourself a little loop around the highway 410/12 area is you can mix in some of section 2 from the WABDR. Bethel ridge connects the 2 highways up and over the mtns. and from what i've seen it's doable in a relatively stock vehicle.

 

[Dilldog]

I grew up in Spokane and currently live there. When I was in the AF I was stationed at McChord in Tacoma. I would drive home nearly every weekend, so I ran I90 in the winter TONS, only ever got dicey once in 4 years of all that. the WADOT does a very good job.
I also lived in Bellingham for a while and would drive back to Spokane along highway 2. It takes more time but is a neat drive. During the summer highway 20 through the Cascades is amazing, and theres quite a few little off shoots to explore.
CDA is a cool town, and the CDA forest is one of my favorite places. Theres tons of mellow forest service roads with views that are staggering and tons of camping opportunities. My other favorite place is the Roosevelt Cedars in north eastern WA. Theres a small campsite with a creek that is perfect for keeping beer cold and some 1200year old cedars, just a super cool place. Honestly the NW is just an amazing place. I think we have a near perfect balance of big cities for great events and such and remote areas for getting away. Also if youre into geology at all this is a super interesting part of the world.

 

[CurrentlyRockhoundin]

Also if youre into geology at all this is a super interesting part of the world.

Did someone say geology! That's like blowing a dog whistle to me.

Central and eastern Washington provides so many fantastic geological points of interest.