Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

Mt. Rainier reflecting off Hugo Lake near Packwood, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007.

Unknown waterfall near Mt. Adams, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007.

Sunset as viewed from Cooper Mountain Lookout near Chelan, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Washington Cascades Overland Tour 2007.

Little Tahoma as viewed from Sunrise, Mt, Rainier National Park, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Sunrise at Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington.

Goat Island Mountain (Mt. Rainier) as viewed from Sunrise, Mt, Rainier National Park, Washington.

You can read about this trip at Sunrise at Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington.

Mt. Rainier captured during an early fall sunrise just after the first snow near Sunrise.

You can read about this trip at Sunrise at Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington.

Old Barn in Ohop, Washington.

Read the archived article at Kapowsin-Ohop Valley Backroads.

See more photos of this area at Kapowsin-Ohop Valley Photos.

Unknown lake at South Prairie as viewed from FS-66 in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington.

Read the complete trip report at Washington Cascades Overland Tour.

Each time I venture to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the South Cascades of Washington state, I am simply amazed at the beauty of the country. In this region, not only are you are surrounded by four major peaks of the Cascade Mountains (Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood), there is an extensive variety of terrain ranging from deep valleys and canyons to exposed buttes and cliffs, alpine meadows to old growth forests, and of course, the Mt. St. Helens blast zone. I could easily spend days or even weeks just exploring the region.

With that in mind, I decided to host a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour in the area just south of Randle, Washington. This region is an area which I am fairly familiar with having spent a lot of time hunting, camping and exploring with my father while growing up. The tour would follow one of my favorite routes in the area, Forest Road 77 from the Burley Mountain Lookout along the ridge past Pinto Rock and Mosquito Meadows. From Mosquito Meadows, we would would take FS 99 to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at Mt. St. Helens and follow FS 26 back to Randle.
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Have you ever wanted to know where the best areas to view Pacific Northwest Fall Foliage in real time?

The Weather Channel provides a state by state map show the locations where the fall colors are at their peak and it’s updated on a regular basis.

To view the most current information, visit the Weather Channel.