With more than 160 recreation sites and 80 free campgrounds
Of ocean beach that is legally a public highway 10
62 miles
Street-legal vehicles only, 25 miles per hour
A bed near the passes and the coast
The geography puts rooms in predictable places. Winthrop and Marblemount sit at the two ends of the North Cascades Highway closure, Packwood between White Pass and Mount Rainier, Republic on the Sherman Pass crossing, Port Angeles at the bottom of Hurricane Ridge Road and Forks near the Olympic coast.
Seasons are short where it counts. The high roads mostly open from late June or July and the Cascade passes are gated by late autumn, so the weeks everyone wants are the same weeks.
Nobody plans a trip around motels, and almost every long trip uses a few. After a week of wind, when the weather turns, while the truck is in a shop, or when the people you travel with have simply earned a hot shower.
What makes lodging work for overlanders
It comes down to parking and attitude.
01Room to park tall and long vehicles, and trailers without unhitching
02Parking you can see from the room, or that is lit
03Late arrivals and early breakfasts
04A hose, a laundry, and no fuss about dust
05Staff who know the local roads and what is open
Before you book
Call rather than click when you have a big vehicle.
01Ask about parking for your height and length.
02Ask about the access road in wet weather.
03Ask about pets, and about leaving gear on the vehicle.
Questions people ask
Will my rig fit?
Ask before you book. Roof tents, campers and high-roof vans do not fit many parking garages, and trailers need pull-through space. Small-town motels and lodges are usually easier than city hotels.
Is it safe to leave gear on the vehicle?
Use judgment, park where you can see the vehicle or under lights, and bring in what you cannot replace. Ask the front desk where they would park it.
How high is Washington?
From Long Beach at 20 feet to Mount Rainier at 14,411.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
RepublicWest side of Sherman Pass on SR 20, in the middle of the Colville National Forest and the Kettle River Range.2,564 ft
SpokaneOn I-90 near the Idaho line. Base for the Colville forest, the Kettle Crest and the eastern scablands.1,870 ft
WinthropMethow Valley town on SR 20, east side of the winter closure. The Harts Pass road leaves from up-valley.1,761 ft
ColvilleOn US 395 in the northeast. Services for the Three Rivers and Newport ends of the Colville forest.1,612 ft
EllensburgI-90 at the north end of the Yakima River Canyon byway, below the Naneum Ridge state forest roads.1,536 ft
LeavenworthOn US 2 below Stevens Pass, at the mouth of Icicle Creek.1,171 ft
ChelanAt the foot of Lake Chelan, the road gateway to the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.1,130 ft
YakimaSouth end of the Yakima River Canyon. Gateway to the Naches and Ahtanum country and the Green Dot roads.1,067 ft
PackwoodOn US 12 between White Pass and Mount Rainier, at the north edge of the Gifford Pinchot.1,054 ft
OmakOn US 97 in the Okanogan valley, east of Loup Loup Summit and south of the Canadian border crossings.845 ft
WenatcheeHeadquarters town of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, on the Columbia where US 2 meets US 97.668 ft
MarblemountLast services on SR 20 before the North Cascades. Cascade River Road starts here.322 ft
ForksUS 101 town for the Hoh and the Olympic wilderness coast. Fuel before the long empty stretch south.305 ft
SeattleWhere I-5 meets I-90. The usual arrival point and the last big-city parts supply before the Cascades.173 ft
Port AngelesOn US 101 at the bottom of Hurricane Ridge Road, the main entrance to the Olympic high country.67 ft
Long BeachOn the 27-mile Long Beach stretch of the Seashore Conservation Area, where driving on the sand is legal.20 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Mount RainierThe highest point in Washington. No road to the top; Sunrise, at 6,400 feet, is as high as a vehicle gets14,411 ft
Mount AdamsYakima County, the volcano the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route passes on its way north12,276 ft
Mount BakerWhatcom County, above the far end of the Mt. Baker Highway10,767 ft
Mount OlympusJefferson County, the high point of the Olympic Mountains7,928 ft
SunriseSunrise Road, Mount Rainier: SR 410 at the White River entrance to the Sunrise visitor area6,400 ft
Harts PassHarts Pass Road, Forest Road 5400: Mazama in the Methow Valley to the Pacific Crest Trail crossing6,200 ft
Sherman PassSherman Pass, SR 20: Republic to Kettle Falls across the Kettle River Range5,575 ft
Washington PassNorth Cascades Highway, SR 20: Marblemount and the Skagit valley to Winthrop and the Methow5,475 ft
Chinook PassChinook Pass, SR 410: Enumclaw and Mount Rainier to Naches and Yakima5,430 ft
Hurricane RidgeHurricane Ridge Road: Port Angeles to the Hurricane Ridge visitor area5,242 ft
Artist PointMt. Baker Highway to Artist Point, SR 542: Bellingham and Glacier to the end of the road below Mount Shuksan5,140 ft
Blewett PassChelan County, between Ellensburg and the Wenatchee valley4,138 ft
Stevens PassKing County, the US 2 crossing of the Cascade crest4,117 ft
Loup Loup SummitOkanogan County, between Omak and the Methow Valley4,017 ft
Cascade Pass TrailheadCascade River Road: Marblemount on SR 20 to the Cascade Pass trailhead3,660 ft
Snoqualmie PassKittitas County. The lowest Cascade crossing measured here, and the one I-90 uses3,014 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
