*Motorcycle Roads NorthWest

Up in the far reaches of Northern Washington, nearly bumping into Canada even, is a wonderful little backroad perfect for sport-touring.

Why, you might ask would you go all the way up there to ride good roads? One fine reason is there’s hardly any other traffic on them. 37 miles of rural 2-lane with only the occasional farm truck and a couple dozen deer to dodge.

Most of the time at least, that is the case.

Unfortunately, when I went through they’d torn out the middle 10 miles of the road down to the bedrock. I was rather glad that I had opted to keep the quasi-dual-sport tires on the strom as the clay-ey soil would not have been fun on sportbike tires like the previous summer’s Conti Road Attacks.

And it is a good road, don’t get me wrong. I had a lot of fun on it, but the locals don’t look too fondly upon riders going much over the 40-ish mph speed limit. And the deer really are plentiful and fearless.

And even better, contrary to some reports from various mapping solutions, this road is (or will be) completely paved from end to end once construction on that center section is done.

Fuel is a bit spotty on the north end of the highway, but there’s food, lodgings, and fuel in Colville.

And this ride is quite fantastic when paired with its natural counterpart of riding Route 25 up into Northport. In fact, it’s quite the hillclimb getting out of Northport on Aladdin Road. Very steep incline that will have smaller motors working overtime, but very cool tight corners in that stretch too.

County: Stevens County, Washington
Length: 37 miles
Towns: Spirit, Northport, Colville, Aladdin

Google Map:

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Washington State Route 142 is one of those odd little rural highways that were carved out of the native landscape to serve some of the small and medium sized town in the area.

The section from Goldendale to the first set of twisties is about 8 miles long, but once you’ve got the straight section done, you’ll find an enjoyable series of sweepers that run nearly uninterrupted all the way down to the Columbia. This is a great little road to run in conjunction with the Mabton-Bickleton-Goldendale Highway if you’re heading over to the Hanson Project or the Yakima/Ellensburg area and aren’t in a vast hurry.

Photos near and along Route 142:

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Northwestern Oregon is a treasure trove of fantastic motorcycle roads. Many of the roads are very mountainous in nature with lots of fir trees and log trucks. This one, on the river side of US30 is a bit different. This one runs through a still hilly but far more agricultural and bucolic settings than the more mountainous setting between US26 and US30.

One key difference for me was that the curves were probably a fair bit safer. Less likely to 1) come across an oncoming log truck in my lane or 2) come across an oncoming bull elk in my lane.

There’s some pretty views on this road too. I rather like the little view down to the Columbia from the top of this bluff.

View of the Columbia near Mayger
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For those not from Western Washington, State Route 503 may need a bit of explanation. This road starts over at Interstate 5 and heads East to the village of Yale, then turns to the South and down towards Vancouver, Washington. While the West Leg of 503 is a nice little road, it’s becoming increasingly urbanized and widened and is not a topic for today. For our purposes, we’ll discuss the South Leg of Washington State Route 503.

South of Yale, 503 twists around in a surprisingly delightful fashion much like FS25 or FS90. To get curves this nice, one generally has to go to Idaho, as even the forest service roads have far worse pavement quality. The countryside up on the north end is a mix of heavy woods and semi-cleared scrubland, all overpoweringly green.

Once across the Lewis River, it settles down more into what one expects out of a Western Washington rural state highway. The curves are more “sweeper” than “twisty” with a few notable 90-degree exceptions. The countryside is vastly different too, with more open farmlands and more people.

Ultimately, of course, this road ends down in Vancouver. Pretty much straight down at that end, it’s busy and suburban. But if you’re heading north and you can put up with that for a mile or two, it’s a road that’s well worth the trip.

• County: Clark & Cowlitz Counties, Washington
• Length: 30 miles (and another 5 miles up to Cougar & FS90)
• Towns: Yale, Chelatchie, Amboy, Fargher Lake, Brush Prairie, Union

Google Map of Washington Route 503:

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I’ve traveled Washington Route 508 on many occasions. Sometimes I’m traveling to or from gatherings in Portland, and sometimes simply out enjoying an afternoon away from family and work, and sometimes I’m seeking to avoid the harried, frantic pace set by those on Interstate 5 or US12. This well-paved country highway engenders a different kind of ride, with its wide graceful sweepers it is very much a touring road for those most concerned about time rather than distance.

Most of the sweepers are marked 40-45mph with a formica-smooth road surface that’s not brand-new either. They have clear lines of sight, with little drama, usually what I’m in the mood for after a few hours of droning on I-5 with its speed freaks, left-lane hogs, and blind-spot corner-hangers. WA508 also appears to be your getaway from the RVs. I have seen many coming home on SR7 or US12, but rarely ever encounter them on WA508. Another of the benefits of WA508, on those few occasions where you approach slow traffic, the unusually frequent passing zones allow you to make short work of those RVs and sight-seers.

Sample sweeper through Onalaska

508 has a few attractions of its own for motorcyclists. About 9 miles west of Morton is a luscious group of corners with a 180 hairpin crossing the river bridge as its centerpiece. The corners are marked mostly at 25-35mph, as is the hairpin. The hairpin is a completely different beast from those gentle corners however, as it has a sharp kink on the east side of the bridge which can’t be seen until you’re on top of it if approaching from the west. A dramatic if you’re not really alert or coming into it at peg-skimming lean angles.”

Junction of WA508 and Jackson Highway (Old US99)

For those motorcyclists who prefer to camp while they tour, Ike Kinswa State Park on Mayfield Lake can be reached from WA 508. While I’ve never visited this park, I’ve heard the roads near it are quite nice.

WA 508 is a nice little touring road, rolling through small villages with friendly people. If you are ever heading east on US 12 and not in a terrible hurry, peel off at Morton and give 508 a try.

• Towns: Napavine, Onalaska, Cinebar, Morton
• Length: 32
• Counties: Lewis

Microsoft Streets & Trips file for Washington State Route 508

Overview Map of Washington State Route 508:

Google Map:

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