Canadian Border to Mount Vernon
- Distance: 52 miles
- Routes: SR 548, Old Highway 99 S
- Estimated Driving Time: 1.5 hours
Although many of the neat homes and well-built barns have been bypassed by the interstate, the travelers can still see a variety of interesting sites, both natural and man-made, along this section of the highway.
Most of this land was once covered by magnificent stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, and Western red cedar, but today much of it has been cleared and brought under cultivation.
This region is favored by an equable climate, tempered by the mild moisture-laden winds from the Pacific Ocean in summer and protected from cold winter winds by the mountain barriers to the east. Seldom are summer days more than comfortably warm, with cool ocean breezes springing up in the evening and frequent showers. Autumn brings fogs and cloudy skies and low-lying mists that settle over the mountains and trail along valleys and lowlands. In winter, cold waves move down occasionally from the north, and, congealing the moisture of warmer ocean air, bring a heavy fall of snow that transforms the land into a white, shimmering paradise, marred only by the hazards of driving on slippery or icy roads.
