US 2, Washington through Minnesota

[Alps]

I have a fairly good probability of incorporating most of US 2 into my next vacation. (I will be heading west through Canada, but I already know what I want to do for that stretch.) What road and non-road sights are must sees on my way through all of these states? I am flexible to detour off the corridor, as sights are more important than clinching.

[NE2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Lake_%28North_Dakota%29
There are some abandoned roads (including old US 281) and maybe abandoned towns.

[roadman65]

Let me know when you find these as  I plan on doing all of US 2 from Mackinac to Everett real soon and also looking for ideas. 

[mgk920]

IMHO, US 2 west is much, much more of a railroad geeking corridor than a road geeking corridor - it closely follows BNSF's busy ex Great Northern mainline nearly the whole way west of Minot.  The scenery along US 2 in the Rockies and Cascades is truly amazing, too.

The Isaak Walton Inn on US 2 at Essex, MT, a fantastic early 20th century rustic railroad hotel, located along the BNSF's ex GN mainline on the south edge of Glacier N.P. is a destination in itself.

Washington DOT is currently developing a new north-south corridor freeway in Spokane, WA, it may be worth checking out.  Also, the intricate bridging with the highways (I-90, US 2, etc) and the railroads on the west edge of downtown Spokane is an interesting place for road, rail and engineering geeks.

US 2 runs close by two of the longest railroad tunnels in North America (Flathead and Cascade).  The west portal of Cascade is visible from the highway.

I'd also be somewhat interested in checking out the city development (the urban planner interest in me) resulting from the oil development in the area around Williston, ND.

Enjoy!

Mike

[sp_redelectric]

Definitely spend a day or two in Glacier National Park, including a drive over Going-to-the-Sun Road.  And the Izaak Walton Inn, definitely worth a stop for lunch if not an overnight there.  Whitefish and Flathead Lake are also good day-long destinations.  From Kalispell to Sandpoint there isn't much to see, just enjoy the last remaining 70 MPH zone before you hit Idaho and the ISP ensures your compliance with the 55 MPH speed limit leading all the way to Everett.

I do agree with the comment it's more of a railfan corridor...the BNSF ex-Great Northern mainline is itself a marvel and you'll be seeing trains with a regular frequency; I believe it is around 30-40 through trains a day.

[bugo]

Check out the bridges in Minot. I have pictures of most of them here:

http://bridgehunter.com/nd/ward/

[J N Winkler]

In regard to Mgk920's suggestion above:  I don't think the North Spokane Corridor amounts to much yet--it had just a few exits when I drove it using SRView imagery.  Some of the custom signing is of interest, but it can be previewed easily enough in SRView to determine whether it justifies the trip.  The US 2 itinerary in Washington also includes the East Peshastin Interchange, which has interesting custom signs too (with mockups in the Road-Related Illustrations thread), but again these can be previewed in SRView.

The US 2 corridor from Spokane northeast to Newport is stoplight-infested with frequent poorly defined transitions from urban to rural.  If I were choosing routes on the basis of scenic value, I would pick SR 21 and SR 20 between Wilbur and Newport in Washington state over US 2.  The scenic values are higher, the route as a whole is far less urbanized, and SR 21 has Washington's first state-operated ferry.

In Idaho there are a couple of abandoned bridges in or near the US 2 corridor, including one which is now a fishing pier (center sections removed) in Moyie Springs just to the west of the present bridge, and the former US 95 crossing of Lake Pend Oreille, which closely parallels its relocation and has been converted into a promenade with planters.  Sandpoint is probably the only place in Idaho where you can find a three-digit state route (SR 200 in this case) signed using shields at three-digit width.

Further east, I would second the recommendation for Glacier National Park.  The buffalo jump country immediately to the south and east is surprisingly scenic, though a visit to the Head-Smashed-In interpretative center is probably best done on the outbound journey to avoid a repeat crossing of the Canadian border and an additional day of travel.  In North Dakota, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is well worth a visit since the badlands (many of which are covered with bentonite deposits which erode into interesting knobby shapes) present interesting photographic possibilities.  It is also one of the few national parks that has an Interstate running through it.  Bison have priority on the park road, and will give you a six AM wakeup call if you choose to camp inside the park (I think you get pit toilets at minimum--maybe flush toilets--but definitely no hot showers, for which you have to find a RV campground in Medora).

[Alps]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Lake_%28North_Dakota%29
There are some abandoned roads (including old US 281) and maybe abandoned towns.

That is the sort of thing that would indeed interest me.

Definitely spend a day or two in Glacier National Park, including a drive over Going-to-the-Sun Road.  And the Izaak Walton Inn, definitely worth a stop for lunch if not an overnight there.  Whitefish and Flathead Lake are also good day-long destinations.  From Kalispell to Sandpoint there isn't much to see, just enjoy the last remaining 70 MPH zone before you hit Idaho and the ISP ensures your compliance with the 55 MPH speed limit leading all the way to Everett.

I do agree with the comment it's more of a railfan corridor...the BNSF ex-Great Northern mainline is itself a marvel and you'll be seeing trains with a regular frequency; I believe it is around 30-40 through trains a day.

Going-to-the-Sun Rd. is already on my itinerary as a must-see. I'll plan some more Glacier Nat'l Park time, then.

Check out the bridges in Minot. I have pictures of most of them here:

http://bridgehunter.com/nd/ward/

Yes. Thank you.

Finally, J N, many good suggestions as well.

[Mdcastle]

Minnesota: There's an abandoned bridge right next to US 2 in Cohassett if it's still there.
If you're into movies, Judy Garland's school is open and has a small museum in Grand Rapids.

The iconic Paul and Babe statue in Bemidji. Also the old US 2 bridge at Midway Drive is a pedestrian crossing.

Itasca State Park has the iconic "walk across the Mississippi" but also has old growth pine forests. Scenic State Park and the "Lost 40" off MN 46 are also good places to see old growth forest. Loggers got just about every last tree at the turn of the century, but Itasca was made a park before the last of them were cut down, Scenic the old trees are on a peninsula where they couldn't be logged, and at the lost 40 a mapmaking error showed the trees as "underwater" and thus not belonging to anyone.

You can tour an open iron mine at Hill Annex state park, and an underground mine (either the standard or the research lab tour) at Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

Lots of roadgeeking stuff in Duluth Superior.

[Kacie Jane]

The US 2 corridor from Spokane northeast to Newport is stoplight-infested with frequent poorly defined transitions from urban to rural.  If I were choosing routes on the basis of scenic value, I would pick SR 21 and SR 20 between Wilbur and Newport in Washington state over US 2.  The scenic values are higher, the route as a whole is far less urbanized, and SR 21 has Washington's first state-operated ferry.

I've never done US 2 across the state, so I can't speak as to which is better, but I do highly recommend SR 20.

[mgk920]

The Izaak Walton Inn:

http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/

Enjoy!

Mike

[Sykotyk]

I've driven US2 from near I-5 east to east of Shelby, MT (different sections at different times). The longest drive was from Spokane to east of Shelby (with a detour up I-15 to the border). It is a great drive. The stretch west of Shelby really does give you the understanding of why Montana is called "Big Sky Country".

[agentsteel53]

I've driven US2 from near I-5 east to east of Shelby, MT (different sections at different times). The longest drive was from Spokane to east of Shelby (with a detour up I-15 to the border). It is a great drive. The stretch west of Shelby really does give you the understanding of why Montana is called "Big Sky Country".

to me, it's east of the Rockies which has several roads that give that impression.  MT-200 comes to mind, as does US-2.

[corco]

I've never done US 2 across the state, so I can't speak as to which is better, but I do highly recommend SR 20.

20 is better by a good margin. 2 peters out in terms of interestingness east of the Columbia.


As for Winkler's suggestion, the 21 to 20 will take a lot longer but is interesting. Northeast Washington is the most underrated part of the whole state (very different than the ag fields of southeast Washington, which you'd see along US 2) and the Keller Ferry is definitely worth doing once.

[roadman65]

This seems like the way those are talking here that it is not a good road geek travel road.  I mean it has attractions on it that are not road related, that is okay, but the tone seems dull otherwise.

I would love to travel it and feel great I can go thousands of miles without an interstate.  Plus going across Montana is hundreds of miles and then you have the 200 plus or maybe close to 300 in North Dakota would make it interesting. 

Even though not many overhead signs and BGSes, you sure would have many shield assemblies and LGSes to photograph and great scenery.  I do not like than the fact that it is all 55 still west of the Rockies though.  It is no different than going through New England on the  major off freeway roads.

[corco]

I mean it has attractions on it that are not road related, that is okay, but the tone seems dull otherwise.

I would disagree with that- it's pretty gorgeous over Stevens Pass and through Idaho and western Montana...just a bit dull in eastern Washington.

I do not like than the fact that it is all 55 still west of the Rockies though.  It is no different than going through New England on the  major off freeway roads.

What? It's 60 to 65 across Washington and Idaho and then 70 in Montana. You can make quite good time on it- it's a lot faster than driving in New England, and then there's fewer towns so less to slow down for.

[roadman65]

Sorry, I assumed with the tone of the one saying that there is no 70 mph west of Montana stated here, that it was 55.  To me 65 mph is no slow speed and it is standard in most states west of the Mississippi for two lane roads.

The way folks were putting the rail lines as primary focus as well as the attractions, I thought it would be dull.

I do plan to clinch US 2's western segment regardless and now that I am thinking maybe return to the east via more off interstate roads.  It would be interesting to make it to the Pacific and use two lane roads and arterials to do it.  Of course, if I visit Seattle or Portland or hang around the western state, I would use the interstates and by all means get photos of all it has.  That would not count, or even to see the 2 mile wide median of Western I-84 on the way back, or there depending on which way I would want to use US 2.

[corco]

US-2 does parallel the rail line, but I'd say that compliments the surrounding scenery more than is the surrounding scenery- they had to do some pretty crazy stuff to get the train over some of those mountain passes, so if you're a railfan there's something to see there.

Ah, I see that post now

ISP ensures your compliance with the 55 MPH speed limit leading all the way to Everett.

...and that's not true, I assure you. I think it's only 60 over Stevens Pass and through Idaho, but it's 65 in the east part of Washington.

[roadman65]

I do like trains.  In fact US 54 from Pratt, KS to Tucumcari, NM has a great rail line paralleling it that I saw.  I do not think as many trains travel there as much as along US 2, though.

[wphiii]

The Great Lakes Aquarium and William S. Irvin freighter tour are both cool things to do in Duluth if that's approximately the terminus of your trip.

Leavenworth, WA is also pretty neat, and it's right on U.S. 2. It's a "Bavarian town" in a similar vein to Solvang, California's Danish-ness.

[J N Winkler]

US 2 has an interesting hill descent into the Columbia River valley from the east, with a hill descent map sign at MP 146.84 (per SRView).  There is also an interesting descent to a valley floor (not as steep or as elaborately graded as the Columbia River descent) around MP 172.  The topography is kind of interesting around the very short SR 17 overlap where US 2 crosses the system of reservoirs that are impounded by the Grand Coulee Dam.  East of there, it is as Corco describes--it follows a very straight route through farm fields until the city street running begins around Fairchild AFB just west of Spokane.

I think it's worth it to sacrifice clinching US 2 between Wilbur and Newport to claim bragging rights for having driven through the wildest and wooliest part of Washington state.  Ferry County does not have the smallest county population in Washington or even the lowest population density (that distinction belongs, I believe, to Garfield County, which is a tiny postage stamp on the US 12 corridor through the hilliest part of the Palouse), but it is arguably the most remote.

If time permits, one possibility is to enter Washington from Canada via US 97 rather than I-5, and do the North Cascades Highway westbound via SR 20 and Stevens Pass eastbound via US 2.  In addition to the mountain pass scenery the route as a whole offers, the first part of the routing takes you through the Methow Valley, which has rugged topography and interesting "deer kill" signs.

[mgk920]

There are some interesting abandoned 'old road' grades in the area where US 2 crosses a deep valley about halfway between the Columbia River and Coulee City, WA, that I found through Yellowstone Trail research that I've been doing off and on.  By all means, do some Google Maps air photo scouting before you go, it is a Godsend on finding these hidden gems to explore!

US 2 through the Tumwater River canyon west of Leavenworth, WA is built on the pre-1929 GN mainline grade.  The railroad there was abandoned when the company relocated the track to a much straighter and faster course in the next valley to the east (Chumstick Canyon) northward out of town as part of the project that built the present-day Cascade Tunnel.

Also, in the Duluth-Superior area, assuming that that is part of the itinerary, the intersecting ramps (controlled by signals) at the I-35/535/US 53 interchange in Duluth, as well as the rest of I-35 there, including its descent into town, is an interesting roadgeek adventure in itself.

Mike

[bugo]

For the railfans: there's a neat railroad trestle just west of Minot that is visible from US 2/52. Here's the Bridgehunter page on it, including some of my pictures:

http://bridgehunter.com/nd/ward/bnsf-viaduct/

[usends]

I'm envious - sounds like a fun trip.  Personally, I would also stop in Rugby ND to see the geographic center of North America.

[hbelkins]

I'd like to take a trip like that sometime.

There was a fellow from Arizona who drove the length of US 70 as it currently exists a few years ago.

About 15 years ago, there was a big Time magazine story where the author drove the length of US 50.

I'd like to do that sometime with two of the long E-W routes that run through Kentucky, US 60 and US 62. I already have all of US 60 from the MO-OK line east to Virginia Beach, and all of US 62 in AR, MO, IL and KY.