Chinook, Cayuse passes expected to open this Friday

The passes appear to open on time for Memorial Day every other year

By Ray Miller-Still • May 24, 2023 1:15 pm
Crews are finishing up clearing the Chinook and Cayuse passes this week. Here’s what Chinook Pass looked like last April. Photo courtesy Washington State Department of Transportation
Crews are finishing up clearing the Chinook and Cayuse passes this week. Here’s what Chinook Pass looked like last April. Photo courtesy Washington State Department of Transportation

Chinook Pass is opening on time this year.

The Washington State Department of Transportation aims to open the pass, located on state Route 410, by Memorial Day every year. WSDOT expects Chinook Pass, as well as Cayuse pass, to be open by 8 a.m. Friday, May 26.

Opening the passes means travelers on SR 410 will be able to travel Crystal Mountain Boulevard, about 12 miles northwest of the summit, and Morse Creek, five miles east of the summit; drivers on SR 123/Cayuse Pass will able to travel within the park boundaries between Stevens Canyon Road and the SR 410 junction.

A pattern appears to be forming where the passes open on time every other year.

In 2022, the passes were cleared on June 10. In 2021, May 28; in 2020, June 4; in 2019, May 23; and June 11 in 2018.