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Lake Cavanaugh in Skagit County, Washington is deep in the heart of the Pacific Northwest logging country. Soon after settlers heeded the words, “Go West” the market for logging products was born. The vast forest products in the Lake Cavanaugh area brought a flurry of activity around the turn of the 20^th century. Logging is still a staple in this rural area of Skagit County, but it is now a popular location for vacation homes.

Frailey Mountain Reflection on Lake Cavanaugh

Lake Cavanaugh is on the northern base of Mount Washington and Frailey Mountain, along the line dividing Skagit and Snohomish counties. Haystack Mountain and many other peaks of the North Cascade foothills surround the lake to the north and east. Lake Cavanaugh Road is the only paved surface bringing the few vacation home owners to this incredibly beautiful area.

Lake Cavanaugh Road joins Washington State Highway 9 just south of the town of Big Lake. The road climbs, dips, swerves, swoops and twists its way between the hills, creeks and rivers that fed the logging boon of years ago. The scenic beauty of this terrain brings a tranquil peace to the pounding of your heart that come from enjoying the road on a motorcycle.

I’ve never counted the number of corners on this 15-mile stretch of Pacific Northwest motorcycling bliss. The leaning of the motorcycle, surrounding views and ample wildlife keeps my brain cells far to busy to track such things.

This is a common sight on Lake Cavanaugh Road.

Lake Cavanaugh Road quickly transports you from the Skagit Valley farm fields to the backwoods of the Cascade foothills. As the elevation climbs from 150 feet at Hwy. 9 to roughly 1,000 feet the moss-covered trees tighten their grip on the prime pavement seemingly made for motorcycles. Eventually, the road comes to a “Y’ where North Shore Drive and South Shore Drive circumnavigate the tranquil waters of the 844-acre Lake Cavanaugh. The lake is only 80-feet deep, but the reflections of the surrounding mountains will reach much deeper into your soul than that.

If you’re on a motorcycle with limited ground clearance then wrapping around the lake and back down Lake Cavanaugh Road is you only real routing option. About seven miles west of the lake is Granstrom Road, which leads back to Highway 9. Granstrom Road offers more tree-lined pavement with more than enough twists to keep your attention.

Even on the few straight stretches, the tree-lined view is beautiful.

If you’re on a dual sport or adventure motorcycle, then options abound for exploring dirt roads and single track trails in this area. For true dual sport riders, you passed by at least a couple entry points to Walker Valley Off-Highway Vehicle area along the north side of Lake Cavanaugh Road. There are enough gnarly single track trails at Walker Valley to entertain you for several days.

For riders of larger adventure touring motorcycles, there are other options. Leaving from the southeast part of the lake is Deer Creek – Lake Cavanaugh Road. This six mile stretch of dirt road is a hoot. On the southern face of Frailey Mountain the views from the road are incredible. The North Fork Stillaguamish River cuts a narrow valley that reaches out to the Puget Sound. Immediately south of the river is Ebey Hill, Wheeler Mountain and increasingly more rugged mountains to the east. The road drops down the mountain and connects with Highway 530 near the hamlet of Oso, between Arlington and Darrington. From this intersection you need to decide if you’re heading toward the sunrise or the sunset. Heading west will end your ride a bit sooner, but no worries as this route will be memorable nonetheless.

Connect this route to others nearby for a truly memorable and adventurous motorcycle ride:

• Finney Creek Road, over the hill we go
• Cascading views along Washington’s Mountain Loop Highway
• Skirting the North Cascades Highway
• Bucolic Mosquito Lake Road

Please post your comments below about this route and others in the area. The more we share, the more adventure there is to be had by all.

The Pacific Northwest holds a true abundance of scenic routes. There’s a lot to see in this part of the world. One of the most diverse ecosystems in the world can be found in the northern reaches of Washington State. The North Cascade National Park straddles the glaciated peaks between the lush lowland Skagit River Valley to rugged glaciated peaks to deserts in the eastern rain shadows.

The North Cascades Highway is one of the best scenic routes to view this incredibly diverse and scenic landscape. That’s why the North Cascades Highway is among the most popular motorcycle routes in the state.

People travel from around the world to experience the North Cascade Mountains and surrounding area by motorcycle. These travellers from afar leave quite happy with the ride while missing out on some for the best parts. State Route 20 is a busy route that required a lot of real estate to build. It is the quickest way over the mountain to the other side. Take it, if just getting over the mountain is your goal.

Aerial image of Skagit Highway and Skagit River

If your goal is to take in the true magnificence of the North Cascades region then continue reading. The arterial roads that wind to and from SR 20 offer some incredible riding and little traffic. There are many of these roads that can be spliced together to truly enjoy the most scenic route through the North Cascade Mountains.

Many of the roads are worthy even as individual destination highways. Some are named highways, while others require a good map or GPS to easily navigate.

I set out a couple weeks ago on a drippy morning from the town of Mount Vernon to ride such a destination highway. The goal of the day was to skirt the North Cascades Highway by way of the Skagit Highway (follow link for map). The western terminus of the Skagit Highway can be accessed by heading south on State Route 9 from the North Cascades Highway in the town of Sedro Woolley. After leaving town, you’ll cross over the Skagit River and make a right hand turn onto the Skagit Highway.

The excitement of the ride got me to goose it around the initial corners of the road. Take my advice and find a cleaner cornering line by just taking it easy. Hugging the centerline deep into a right-hand corner served as an early reminder that I wasn’t out to race today. This was a ride to just enjoy the scenery and take in the grandeur of the region.

The Skagit Highway links up with the Concrete-Sauk River Road for a leisurely trip just under 50 miles. For most of the ride, the road hugs the Skagit River. This is the lifeblood of this region. Glaciers high up on the mountains provide year round ice melt that feeds the Skagit River and the nearly two million acres of land that adjoins it along its 150 mile route to the Puget Sound.

Trees covered in moss line the Skagit Highway

Foothills rise quickly from the south and west sides of the road while the river and vast views of the North Cascades spread wide to the north and east. The rugged terrain gives way from time to time providing views of the snow-capped peaks in the distance. The temperate maritime climate provides near constant dampness in this area, despite relatively few inches of actual rain per year. Moss clings loosely to the trees lining the road. At times it creates an eerie backdrop that would be perfectly at home in the opening scenes of a horror movie.

The soft rushing of water over rocks encourages me to stop. The growl in my tummy needs to be fed and a smoothed river rock provides the perfect place to eat my ham sandwich. Of course I found a nice muddy road that led right up to the river. Very enjoyable spot for escaping the everyday business of life.

Up on a ridge for a better view. On a clear day the snow capped Cascades would be in the background.

About 25 miles into the ride and the Skagit Highway runs into Concrete-Sauk Valley Road. This road will continue another 16 miles south before connecting with State Route 530. This entire route is just over 40 miles of soft curves with slight elevation gains and losses. The tree-lined roads give way to open fields and wide views of the North Cascade Mountains. All the while, you’re actually able to experience the flora and fauna of this diverse ecosystem because you found the road that only the locals know. Well, the locals and now everyone reading this article. Get out there and enjoy it because you won’t have much traffic to contend with on this road.

This is just one of the arterial routes that I’ll be writing about along the North Cascades Highway in 2010. By year’s end, I hope to patch together a full listing that will help motorcyclists find a truly unique riding experience in this truly unique area.