Mountains in the Area

[Donkeylips]

Occasionally the wife and I like to do some dirt road driving. It's easy in Oregon because almost anywhere you go you are bound to run into mountains that are easily accessible with no gates! I live in Sultan and I am wondering if there is any way to give into the mountain ranges north or south of route 2? Besides Tonga Ridge which is still a good drive until gravel. Everything helps!

Thanks in Advance,
Kurtis

 

[Money Mark]

The problem with gravel roads off I-90 (west side) is that they're mostly gated.....a more hiker based area....what is open (Denny creek, etc.) is gated shortly after a few miles and there are actually alot of "off limits" areas designated for conservation (and the like) in that area.

I think there is stuff north of Roslyn......But I've only heard about it. And again.....seems to be a more hiking/camping based area.

Would be interested in what other's say and what you find.

 

[Donkeylips]

I'm just surprised that everything is so gated in Washington. I've always heard about hunting and wheeling in the NW but where do you go for hunting? Wheeling is good drive for me now since Rieter is closed. (Never had a chance to wheel it because I got back from deployment 2 weeks after it closed)

 

[boxboy]

go up to granite falls and take the Mountain loop hwy. It loops around to Darrington then more north or loop back. There are roads off the pavement you can go explorer.

 

[nick c]

Money is right. Get ahold of the ranger station near Roslyn/Cle Elum. I used to cruise alot of the forest service roads out there, and the rangers are happy to tell you which roads are currently open.

 

[Murkman]

Liberty, Taneum, Teanaway, Salmon La Sac, Stampede Pass, Washington Pass, Pryamid Pass, Little Naches, Manastash, Cloversprings, Bethel Ridge, Ellensburg Pass, Wenas, and Oak Creek to just name a few. All within 3 hours of the Seattle area most closer. And hundreds of miles if not thousands of miles of open roads (when snow free). Firewood gathering, mushroom (edible) hunting, berry picking, antler hunting, game hunting, mine exploring, what have you as there is a place for it. Go for it. Get out there and hunt, fish, camp just do it. Forget the naysayseers that say everything is locked up and gated. They are wrong.

Just pay attention to the gates you do find. If a Forest Pass is required please have one. Please pick up after your self. Drive the forest roads safely. Wave and be friendly to the other forest users.

If you plan to go shooting. Be sure of your backdrop and range area. Don't put a bottle on top of a stump. Don't use the forest as a backdrop. Use common sense.

Keep the use of ORV's to approved areas. The Forest Service has maps of such areas.

All is good!

 

[Donkeylips]

It just seems odd to me that there is a lot of gates around the Sultan, Gold Bar and Monroe area. There is only when place I know of near by to go and that is up the Sultan Basin road. That dead ends at a bunch of gates. If you take a right after the first or second bridge there is a road that goes for a while and I hear there is a great wheeling spot out there. I guess I'm just used to being able to get into the mountains within a 15min to 30min drive not 45mins to 1.5hr.

 

[KarlVP]

Sultan Basin has been whored out by too many folks.

Let me re-iterate that, too many no-good folks. The people that respected the area were ran off and driven out by the DNR when the trash dumpers and no respect "mudders" went out there.


There are lots of areas around here. Yes there are gates, but most of it is private land. Even at Reiter you came across gates for private forestry or power company land. We just knew where to go.

There are plenty of areas of non gated easy access. Once the snow is gone, you can go for MILES. With the snow out here it is a little harder.

 

[Donkeylips]

There has been a bunch of dumping up there. The place is pretty trashed really. I've came across everything from a few washers and dryers to old beat down and shot up cars.