Sherman Pass Scenic Byway
Sherman Pass Scenic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Washington. Within Washington it covers roughly 45 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Sherman Pass Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Sherman Pass Scenic Byway covers 88 miles through the Colville National Forest in northeastern Washington, running from Republic east on SR-20 to the town of Kettle Falls. Along the way it crosses Sherman Pass, at 5,575 feet the highest mountain pass in the state that's maintained through the winter. The pass is named for Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, who crossed it in 1883, but its history runs much deeper: the San Poil people used the route for generations to reach fishing grounds near Kettle Falls, long before miners and loggers took it over and the road was finally paved in the 1950s. Historic stops along the byway include a preserved log flume from the area's logging era, Camp Growden, which tells the story of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression, and a White Mountain interpretive site on the history of wildland firefighting. Nearby Colville offers lodging and access to Crystal Falls and the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge.
- 88 miles, Republic to Kettle Falls on SR-20
- Sherman Pass, WA's highest year-round pass (5,575 ft)
- San Poil Indian fishing route history
- Named for Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman (1883)
- Camp Growden CCC history
- Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge
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Places to stop along Sherman Pass Scenic Byway
Stonerose Interpretive Center
A Republic fossil site where visitors can split shale and find 50-million-year-old leaves, insects, and fish, keeping up to three finds a day.
WebsiteCurlew Lake State Park
A lakeside camping park north of Republic with swimming, fishing, and an osprey nest you can watch from shore.
WebsiteWhite Mountain Interpretive Site
A quarter-mile paved trail near the pass with views and signs about the 1929 and 1988 wildfires that swept these mountains.
Camp Growden Heritage Site
The site of a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps camp nicknamed Little America for enrollees from across the country, with a short interpretive trail.
WebsiteLog Flume Heritage Site
Surviving timbers of an old logging flume along Sherman Creek, with a short loop trail and signs on early timber days.
WebsiteKettle Falls Historical Center
Exhibits on the great Kettle Falls salmon fishery, a gathering place for tribes for thousands of years until Grand Coulee Dam flooded the falls in 1940.
Website
Where to Stay along Sherman Pass Scenic Byway
6 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Sherman Pass Scenic Byway.
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What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.