Around The Methow Valley -- Feeling High And Mighty On The Harts Pass Drive

HARTS PASS, Okanogan County - Any road with a section called "Deadhorse Point" has to be worth driving.

A name like that hints of a road with history and character. Harts Pass Road, which contains Deadhorse Point, has plenty of both.

Driving the steep and narrow 21-mile road to Harts Pass in north-central Washington can be a white-knuckle experience. It's the highest road in the state, according to the Okanogan National Forest staff who manage the road and the surrounding wilderness northwest of the Methow Valley community of Mazama.

But the drive is worth it. At the top are sweeping views of North Cascades peaks, alpine meadows strewn with wildflowers and excellent hiking.

Beginning at Mazama, the Harts Pass road climbs more than 5,000 feet to top out at the 7,450-foot Slate Peak, several miles beyond Harts Pass. A gate blocks the last quarter-mile up to Slate Peak since it's too steep for most cars; drivers can get to about 7,100 feet.

The road was carved out a century ago by miners who clawed through the high-mountain country in search of gold. It's certainly been improved since the miners struggled up with horse-drawn wagons and mule trains. The first nine miles are paved, although the next 13 are a steep, narrow gravel road.

Deadhorse Point is the place that will give many drivers and passengers some tense moments. It's a quarter-mile stretch (it seems like miles) roughly half-way to Harts Pass, where the roadway has been blasted out of a sheer rock cliff.

The rough rock roadway clings to the cliff and narrows to one lane. Don't look down: there's a 1,500-foot sheer dropoff at Deadhorse Point.

And, yes, there are no guardrails.

Deadhorse Point got its name after a string of pack animals plunged off the road to their deaths at the turn of the century. Or so the story goes.

Still, all sorts of people drive the road, from backpackers setting out on days-long hikes to sightseers who scarcely get out of their cars.

"I've seen just about every kind of car up at Harts Pass - Cadillacs, Jaguars, Mercedes," said Curtis Edward, a recreation specialist with the Okanogan National Forest.

National Forest staff did a public survey a few years ago asking if the Harts Pass road should be improved, said Curtis. "Most people said no. I guess they like the road the way it is, the experience of the drive."

The road is at its most exciting - rocky and rutted - early in the season -before it's been graded. In this high, snowy country it often isn't graded until mid-July, although the road can be open for weeks before that depending on snowfall. It usually can be driven through September and into early October.

Trailers are not allowed on the top two-thirds of the Harts Pass road, but ordinary passenger vehicles should have no problems provided drivers take it slow and are ready for a mountainous Forest Service road.

From the Harts Pass area, trails radiate out. The Pacific Crest trail, the national hiking trail that traverses the western United States between Canada and Mexico, goes through Harts Pass.

The first few miles in both directions along the Pacific Crest trail are suitable even for children and casual hikers since the path meanders along high ridges with little elevation gain. Most of the climbing has been accomplished by the long drive up to Harts Pass.

More information

-- The Okanogan National Forest office in Winthrop can provide information on the Harts Pass road and recreation around the Methow Valley: phone (509) 996-2266.

-- Check bookstores for several books published by The Mountaineers that describe trails off the Harts Pass road. The hikes there along the Pacific Crest trail are variously called Ninety-nine Ridge, Grasshopper Pass, Benson Pass and Windy Pass.