North Cascades Highway closed for season

With 15 inches of new snow and wet weather in the forecast, the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) is officially closed for the season, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced Monday (Nov. 18).

The route was closed between Ross Dam trailhead (milepost 134) and Silver Star gate (milepost 171) on Friday (Nov. 15). WSDOT said at the time that it would re-evaluate travel conditions before deciding whether to reopen the highway.

The Monday announcement was not unexpected, given prevailing weather forecasts for the rest of this week.

“The road will remain closed for winter for the safety of crews and the traveling public due to avalanche risk,” WSDOT said in a press release on Monday. “The road will reopen in spring after crews clear the snow and make needed repairs.”

Current gate closures are at locations where adequate parking is available for backcountry users, WSDOT said. Closures may be extended farther east or west as the winter progresses.

“While initially we close the pass between mileposts 134 and 171, when winter comes to lower elevations, we have to focus our resources on those communities, so we extend the closure points to Newhalem gate (milepost 121) on the west side, and Early Winters gate (milepost 178) on the east side,” WSDOT says on its blog site. “Like the seasonal closure, the shift to mid-winter closure points is due to weather and conditions and can come at short notice.”

Backcountry users are reminded that the route is an avalanche area that sees a huge amount of snow and has lots of potential hazards, WSDOT says.

Last winter, the highway was closed to traffic on Nov. 30, 2023. It reopened on April 19 of this year. The earliest closure date was Oct. 17 in 2003. The latest closure date was Jan. 3, 1990.

The earliest opening date was March 10, 2005. The latest opening date was June 14, 1974. In only one season, 1976-77, did the highway remain open all winter.

Winter routes for Methow Valley residents headed to the west side are U.S. Highway 2 over Stevens Pass, or Snoqualmie Pass/Interstate 90 via Blewett Pass. Regularly updated winter pass reports can be found at https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/mountainpasses/.