The area had quantities of coking coal and iron ore with coal mines operating from 1892 until 1902, and was named for coke production. It was called Coker Junction on the local United States Geological Survey maps in 1921, as several railroad lines met there before heading into the mountains to the east.

On the north bank of the Skagit River, it had a large sawmill at one time. In 1880, it was named for B. L. Lyman, first postmaster. In the period of Skagit River steam boating, it was called Williamson’s Landing, for A. R. Williamson, a local settler. Between Lyman and Hamilton the tour ascends along the river valley; the highway separates sharply contrasting country; on one side are stump lands...

A settlement of South Carolinians, who gained their livelihood from seasonal work in logging camps and in truck gardens. It was whispered that the hills lifting from the river valley concealed many a copper pot in which “white mule” (aka moonshine) was condensed. The town was named for William Hamilton, on whose homestead the village was started.

This was the railroad connection for the city of Birdsview, located just to the south. This area was the center of a truck gardening community and shipping point for the local limestone quarry; the road was bordered at points by heavy stands of maple and alder, shipped to city factories for use in the manufacture of furniture. In 1878, Birdsley D. Minkler built a water-powered sawmill there and later a...

Mile: 83

The first name was Ponto, chosen by the Great Northern Railway. Residents disliked the name, and changed it to the name of a town in Michigan. C. W. Griest platted the town in 1901 and had a post office and a store. The school was consolidated with Concrete in 1936 and the post office was closed in 1921.

Mile: 88

At the mouth of Jackman Creek in north central Skagit County. It was named for James V. Van Horn, who operated a shingle mill on Jackman Creek and owned a hotel and a store. Mr. Van Horn was post master when the post office was established on April 12, 1901. The post office was closed December 31, 1925.

Mile: 92

An abandoned town on Skagit River below the mouth of the Sauk River in central Skagit County. It was used as a landing for river boats that brought supplies for Monte Cristo and other mining communities in the 1890s. The name is from an Indian band who lived along the river, the Sah-kee-me-hue. Glacier-fed and silt-laden, the Sauk has its headwaters in the Glacier Peak Area far southward. Sauk Mountain...

Mile: 94

A community on the north bank of the Skagit River, upstream from the mouth of the Sauk River east of Sedro-Woolley. Albert von Pressentin, a storekeeper at Sauk moved to the site of Rockport to build a hotel in anticipation of the arrival of a rail line. When the railroad arrived in 1901 “...he had a new hotel ready, built on a solid rock foundation which he called the Rockport...

Mile: 97

The oldest settlement in the region. This hamlet was founded during Civil War days and was once used as a supply base by prospectors who panned the gold-flecked streams of the vicinity. Later a marble quarry was briefly operated at the base of the rock slope to the west, and so the settlement received its name. In the 1890s, more than 1,500 miners and prospectors worked in the area and...

Mile: 105

The foothills of the Cascade Range begin to close in on the railroad line, and the tracks and the river are soon boxed in between the shattered cliffs and the lichen-covered canyon walls. Through a fringe of trees, the stream may be glimpsed, its foam-streaked waters clear blue or chill green as the channel deepens. Approaching Thornton Creek, the valley widens slightly, and clumps of gnarled cedars appear among tangles...

Mile: 117

Headquarters of Seattle City Light construction projects on the Skagit River, this town came into existence when the City of Seattle began development of the power site. The nationally registered historic town is still owned by Seattle City Light and populated entirely by SCL employees that staff the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. Tours of the nearby dams and other water reclamation projects headed by Seattle City Light start at the...

Points of Interest

Gorge Power Plant

Tropical Gardens

Gorge Creek High

Mile: 121

This view point affords remarkable views of Diablo Dam.

Mile: 132

The Skagit River Hydroelectric Project began in 1918 and ended in 1961 with the partial completion of the Ross Dam. It includes the Gorge, Diablo, and Ross dams and powerhouses, and is affiliated with the smaller Newhalem Creek Hydroelectric Project, which includes the Gorge Power Plant in Newhalem. In 1917 the Seattle Department of Lighting (today Seattle City Light) superintendent James Delmage (J. D.) Ross chose Ruby Creek, near the...

Mile: 134

Between Whistler and Frisco mountains, this pass with an elevation of 4,860 feet is at the crest of the Cascades, third highest pass, behind Harts pass at 6,197 feet, the highest road crossing in the state; Sherman pass is 5,575 feet, and Chinook pass is 5,440.

Mile: 158

A mining camp on the upper Methow River in west central Okanogan County. It once marked the end of paved roads in the northwest Methow Valley. It became a jumping-off place for miners who spend their winters “snowed in” in the mines of the high Cascades. The name is the Spanish name for mountain goat. Prior to this, the place was known as Goat Creek. Plenty of mountain goats once...

Mile: 179

  The town long focused on logging and sawmilling. It was platted as Gloversville on July 30, 1897 by H. C. Glover on whose homestead it was located. On June 29, 1899, the town was re-platted by Amanda B. Burger as Twisp. The name is a modification of the Native American word T-wapsp, the meaning of which is not known. In Twisp the Twisp River, fresh from the Cascades, joins...

Mile: 202