The Historic Yellowstone Trail
in Washington

Driving Old Blewett Pass

Driving Old Blewett Pass
August 2016

The Old Blewett Pass Highway became a section of the Yellowstone Trail in 1925. The pass is located between Peshastin on the north end and the junction of US-97 and SR-970 (Lauderdale Junction) at the south end. The 13 mile section of the old highway was a spectacular yet harrowing ride with 248 curves on a narrow roadway as you climb along the side of a mountain to the summit which is 4,061 feet above sea level. Today this section is bypassed by the new highway.

In 1916 the Leavenworth Echo quoted Mrs. Durban who said to a reporter; "The scenery was simply grand, affording many thrills, as the car glides along with one fender almost scraping the bank, which is perpendicular on one side, and the other fender apparently sticking out over a precipice, making one instinctively lean toward the bank and hold your breath." 

The Blewett Highway became part of the Yellowstone Trail in 1925 when the route was changed to follow the Sunset Highway across Washington State. The route first began as an Indian trail, and in the 1870's when gold was discovered in the Swauk valley, miners began to use the trails to travel to the mining camps. In 1891 a wagon road was constructed following the trail. The miners donated 1 week of labor a month to construct the road.

By 1898 the road was completed from Cle Elum to Peshastin. Autos began to cross Blewett Pass by the mid teens, and in 1922 the road became a part of the Sunset Highway. In 1956 the road was upgraded and rerouted over what was then called Swauk Pass. The locals called the new route Blewett Pass and the name stuck. in 1995 Swauk Pass was officially changed to Blewett Pass and the original Blewett Pass on the old highway was renamed "Old Blewett Pass." Before we drove over the old pass, we took a side trip to the Ingalls Creek Trailhead for a 3 mile hike along an abandoned part of the old highway which ends at the landslide.

Just before the trailhead we stopped at the old Brender gas station which opened in 1926. A few years later a campsite was built called Brender's Park which featured 3 cabins for rent. The deer antlers above one of the cabins has been there since the cabin was built. It is private property now and Dean the caretaker who lives in the building allowed us to walk around and take photos. He told us some interesting stories about the area. One was about a bigfoot which was spotted here. He also said that the Brender family still own the property.

We told Dean we were going to hike up the old road to the landslide. He warned us about the rattlesnakes as they were molting this time of year. You need to see them before they see you. He says the best defense is a shovel. After we thanked him and said goodbye, we continued on to the Ingalls Creek trailhead. Ingalls Creek was named for Capt. Benjamin Ingalls who as the legend goes, found gold near here while on a scouting trip for the US Calvary. He couldn't mine it as he had to return to his company. He did not tell anyone what he'd found.

After his tour of duty the Captain and his partner packed up some supplies and began the journey back to where he found the gold. As they were riding through some thick brush, the Captain accidentally snapped back a branch and it hit his partner which caused his gun to discharge, instantly killing Capt. Ingalls, and the gold was never found. From the Ingalls Creek trailhead you can hike 16 miles up the Stuart Mountain range. We took the much shorter route up the old highway 1.5 miles to where a landslide had destroyed a large section of the old road.

This 1.5 mile section is closed to vehicles and is not maintained. The pavement is still pretty good considering the years of neglect. As we walked up the road, the single white line was still very visible. Over the years rocks have fallen onto the road but only a few places are completely covered. The road climb up the side of the mountain giving you excellent views. You need to be careful taking photos here so you do not fall off the cliff. After a 45 minute hike we reached the landslide. It happened in the 1960's after the road had been abandoned. You can still see the impact from satellite maps. When the hillside collapsed, 1000's of tons of rock slid down into Peshastin Creek and it took the old highway with it. The new road is on the other side of the canyon.

After we returned to the car we continued on to the ghost town of Blewett. Gold was discovered there in the 1890's. The town of Blewett sprang up overnight and had a reputation as one of the most disorderly and violent towns in Chelan County. In 1956 the town would torn down to make way for the new highway. Nothing but a historical marker and a place to park is all that remains today. As we continued toward the summit you can see parts of the old highway still clinging to the side of the mountain. In places it has fallen into the creek and others, it is just a sliver of pavement.

All the bridges were one lane. They have all been removed but the abutments remain. Access to the north end of the 13 mile section of the old highway is 2 miles south of Blewett. This section is now maintained by the US Forest Service. The road is smooth and it is easily passable by a car though it is basically a one lane road so you need to be cautious of oncoming traffic. We continued on and I was wondering what was it like to drive on this road in 1925. It gave me great concern as I rounded each curve. If another car came from the opposite way it would make for a very scary encounter.

You can't see around most of the curves. We were so grateful we never seen a car the entire 13 miles. Just a pair a bicyclists who were struggling up the 5% grade. We finally made it to the summit and stopped at the site of the Top O' The Hill Resort and Cafe which was built in 1920. The resort burned down a few years later. In the 1930's and 40's another restaurant was built and called Stu's Lunch. This diner gave travelers a place to rest and a hot meal to eat.

Before the paved road was built in the 1920's, traffic used the old wagon road which became State Route #7 in 1908. The hills were steep, and some had grades of over 25%. It was common for motorists to have to push their cars over the summit in hot weather due to vacuum problems. Many a traveler burned their brakes descending the steep dirt road over the pass. One driver lost his brakes and his 2 daughters jumped out while he rode it down to the bottom. Minor injuries resulted.

Some motorists would tie a log to the back of their car to help slow it down. There were many accidents as well. One accident happened when a car took a curve too wide and crashed head on into an oncoming car. Luckily no one was hurt. Unfortunately there have been accidents which resulted in cars going over the grade and killing the occupants.

A few miles south of the summit we stopped at Echo Point the upper most switchback on the south side of the pass. Echo Point offers some excellent views. It was named after the Cle Elum Echo Newspaper. this was because they were influential in boosting the route for travel and tourism. We spotted an apple tree on the side of the road. I wondered if this tree had been accidentally planted by a motorist tossing an eaten apple out the window. While I was taking photos, the bicyclists we passed earlier came down the hill toward us.

As they passed I called out to them "Are you enjoying the ride?" They both answered with glee "We are now," as they coasted past us on down the hill. It was 88 degrees out so I'm sure it wasn't pleasant going up. From Echo Point it isn't far to the main highway, 2 more switchbacks and we were down.

All in all the road was clear and passable and there were surprisingly very few potholes. Any car could make this trip easily.