A narrow gorge, with massive rock formations that rise to form the opposite canyon walls, while the river foams and dashes in its rough bed several hundred feet below. Impressive views present themselves from time to time as the highway winds past natural vantage points. The east end transitions from the narrow gorge as the highway swings away from the river and cuts through a wide valley given over to...

Mile: 147

A small stream pursuing a twisted course across the rich meadows which flank the highway, and shortly ends at a junction with Reecer Creek Road.

This railway spur and community was built to load ice for shipment of fruit and other products to places in Oregon. Railway officials named the spur for R. J. Holmes, owner of the ice plant.

The name was chosen by railway officials when a siding was built in 1888 to honor Nelson C. Thrall, chief clerk to Thomas F. Oakes, general manager of Northern Pacific Railway Company in 1883. A post office operated from March of 1911 to June 1915.

A railway siding on west bank of the Yakima River. This place was used by the Northern Pacific Railway when a station was established in 1885. The name refers to the fact that because snow melted quite early in the year, deer came down to Umtanum Creek in plentiful numbers.

Mile: 17

The landscape transitions from alfalfa fields and orchards to the confines of the Yakima Canyon. The high varicolored walls glisten in the sunlight; lower crevices are veiled in shadow. Splashing along the canyon floor is the Yakima River. Prior to construction of the present highway, the only route through the canyon was by railroad. Rugged natural obstacles delayed for years the completion of both the Northern Pacific Railway and the...

Mile: 15

The railroad station at this place was named Canyon in 1902 by the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1912, it was changed to the present name to honor Seymour Wymer, a former pump operator who was later employed by the railroad at their passenger depot in Pasco.

Mile: 13

The first name was Pato, by the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1887, it was changed to the present name, for one of the official's daughters. Mrs. Davis noted that it was never more than a flag station. It is important today as the site of the diversion dam of the Roza Irrigation Project, from which waters flow southwest through 90 miles of ditches, canals, flumes, and three tunnels cut in...

Mile: 9

In 1885, the station was named Selah by the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1908, the name was changed to the present one because Wenas station was generally called Selah. The name was suggested by the local Northern Pacific agent, Edmund Stevens, for the patroness of gardens and fruits in Roman mythology. The city has its railroad station on the opposite side of the river. The valley widens out from the...

Mile: 1

This spot on the river was used as a ford by pioneers. Here in 1853 the party of Henry Longmire, seeking to traverse the valley to Olympia, lost a portion of its wagons and many personal belongings in the turbulent stream. A charter was granted to J. T. Hicklin in 1863 to “operate a ferry across the Yakima at a location somewhere between the mouth of the Wenas River and...

Mile: 4

This city, first settled in the 1860s, fought a losing battle with a great railroad. When, after many delays the Northern Pacific Railroad built through the valley in 1884, Union Gap (then known as Yakima City) refused to make concessions for terminals. The railroad deliberately created a new town four miles to the north, and called it North Yakima; most of the old town of Yakima City contains buildings moved...

Points of Interest

Elizabeth Louden Carmichael House

Alexander McAlister House

The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, historically the lands of the Yakama, extended along the Cascade Mountain Range to the Columbia River and beyond. The lands are sheltered from the rains by the Cascade Mountains and extend out into the rolling foothills and along the Yakima River valley. The tribal people comprising the Yakama Nation have lived in this area since the beginning of time. They used...

It was named by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1890 for William Parker, who settled there in 1864. The plat for the town was filed January 6, 1909.

Mile: 73

Yakama Nation Cultural Center, a unique facility with a museum that exhibits the history and art of the region’s first people—the Yakamas. Inhabitants of the Yakama Reservation are descendants of a coalition formed in the middle of the last century by the original Yakama and 13 other bands. In 1938, the population of the Yakama Indian tribe, the largest in the State, was 2,933, most of whom live on small...

Mile: 63

This ridge on the Yakima Native American Reservation runs for at least fifteen miles parallel to Toppenish Creek. Satus Peak is west of the west end of the ridge. A parallel ridge, Ahtanum, is fourteen miles north.

Mile: 56

A 1,610-ft. pass at the summit of the Simcoe Mountains between drainage areas of Satus Creek on the north and the Little Klickitat River on the south in north central Klickitat County is called Satus Pass. An early trail ran across the pass. Beyond the reach of trampling feet, wild flowers bloom among tufts of wild grass.

Mile: 27

Where moisture-laden air blows up from the Columbia, the tour navigates the steep pass in a series of horseshoe bends that rise from the river’s deep-cleft course. The curious markings seen everywhere on the steep slopes are sheep trails.

Mile: 6

This junction occurs on the north bank of the Columbia River at the intersction between state routes 97 (running north south through Oregon and Washington) and state route 14 (continuing east to the junction with Interstate 82 just north of Umatilla, Oregon). The tour leads along the rocky north side of the Columbia Gorge. The banks of the river on the Oregon side rise steeply, forming terrace on terrace as...