Mounting a long easy grade with many curves, US 410 climbs high above a forest, which is covered with snow in winter. The green of alpine fir and mountain hemlock is brightened by yellow splashes, where clumps of larch trees stand with bleached needles. The larch is the only tree in western United States that loses its needles in winter. On the hillside are thickets of mountain ash, from which dangle clusters of bright red berries. Mats of huckleberry bushes partially cover the rocks.

From the heights at the head of American River the Cascade Range appears as waves in a turbulent sea. The ramifications of the river canyons and watersheds fade off into the gray plain east of the Columbia River. The road overlooks the Rainier Fork of the American River.