The Yellowstone Trail--Washington

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=47 BGCOLOR="#FFFF33" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Yellowstone Trail--Washington</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#FFFF33" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Yellowstone Trail"><B>Home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Yellowstone TrailState by State"><B>The YT, state-by-state</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Historic Washington YTA Map"><B>Washington Map</B></A></div> <div> <B>Counties:</B></div> <div> Under construction</div> <bR> <div> <B>WA </B><A HREF="id182.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Washington MilebyMile "><B>Mile-by-Mile</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=433 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="06100c00egerdp.jpg"> <div> As the founders of the Yellowstone Trail extended the Trail to the west, they were confronted with finding a route to Washington across the Bitterroots at the Montana/Idaho border.  There were no roads near Lookout Pass, the logical route along the railroad.  The burgeoning mining district around Mullan and Wallace Idaho also needed a route across the Bitterroots and around 1914 the Randolph Creek/Mullan Pass road was developed.  The Association immediately routed the Trail on that route into Spokane.  Then they faced the problem of a useable route to Seattle.  The Wenatchee, Blewett Pass,  Snoqualmie Pass route would be the shorter, but Blewett Pass was years from being an adequate auto route.  The considerably longer Spokane, Walla Walla, Yakima, Snoqualmie Pass route was chosen because of its "good" roads and it scenic value.  Not until 1925 was the route moved north to the Blewett Pass route when that Pass became reasonably useable.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>