The 5 Most Desolate Drives In Washington State

It's certainly hard to go anywhere in the world these days and truly get away from it all, whether you're looking to do so or not.

Even in big Western states like Washington, although things might be spaced out a lot more than the congested confines of the East Coast, it's still fairly difficult to travel any great distances without bumping into at least a little bit of something that might be considered at least a sliver of civilization.

And so, after pondering the thought for a while, I've decided to give you a rundown of the top five most desolate drives in the Evergreen State.

The criteria for this little litany of trivial travel factoids includes the definition of 'desolate' being what our friends at Webster label as "devoid of inhabitants or visitors." So even though we might think only landscapes like a barren wasteland or parched desert would qualify as being desolate, it's simply a lack of people who are either permanently living or just passing through a place en masse that defines it as such.

Our list also defines the most desolate drives as being the longest stretches of a single numbered highway which include no towns or other significant infrastructure. So while it's possible you might pass a small shanty or an outhouse as you drive these expanses, you absolutely will not be seeing any gas stations, restaurants or shopping malls.

Alright, I think you get the gist of our exercise's design and purpose, so let's hit the road and start chewing up some asphalt!

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#5. State Route 17 (SR-17) from Soap Lake to Bridgeport
Distance: 50.7 miles
Approximate Drive Time: 61 minutes

Since a fair chunk of this drive takes you across the Waterville Plateau, it's no wonder that it made our list at #5.

When driven from south to north (just as the mileposts are laid out in the state), this 50-mile stretch of highway will actually take you through a variety of landscapes, starting with the rocky escarpments along the banks of both Soap Lake and Lenore Lake, before climbing the Plateau where you'll course within plenty of flatland wheat fields, and finally from Leahy Junction west where the roadway is lined with numerous unique geological features, including a patch of powdery white sandstone formations known as The Chalk Hills on the north side of the highway about 11 miles east of Bridgeport.

And yes, while it's true you will briefly glimpse the town of Coulee City, the highway passes just west of town and you won't go through it. The old gas stop and tackle store at the edge of town has been abandoned for years now, so there's no civilization to be found there. And despite the presence of Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park on the side of the road just below Coulee City, as well as about 100 resort homes on the other side of Lake Lenore from the highway, the drive is essentially devoid of any real built-up infrastructure that would matter much if you were especially hungry or running out of gas. So this part of SR-17 most certainly qualifies for our list.

#4. U.S. Highway 97 (U.S. 97) from Goldendale to Toppenish
Distance: 50.8 miles
Approximate Drive Time: 52 minutes

Anyone who's ever driven this stretch of U.S. 97 that goes over Satus Pass knows there'll be no stopping for Slim Jims and super unleaded for a while once you get your wheels going underneath you.

When starting in Goldendale, the drive initially traverses through a bit of sparse timber before the scenery gradually becomes more densely forested, as the summit of Satus is actually only 15 miles up the road.

On what many might call "the Yakima side", which actually much closer to the town of Toppenish, the landscapes immediately adjacent to the highway take on a dustier look featuring scalloped hills bristling with puckerbrush and wizened fence posts reluctantly joined by tainted barbed wire.

Regardless of what backdrops might be steadily flying by out the car windows, you definitely won't be finding any places to stop for much of anything besides the occasional photo op of a double rainbow or a kaleidoscope of butterflies at the side of the road. There's even a sign at both ends of the drive warning motorists about the healthy expanse they're about to encounter without services.

#3. U.S. Highway 97 (U.S. 97) from Ellensburg to the junction of U.S. Highway 2 (The Big Y near Peshastin)
Distance: 52.4 miles
Approximate Drive Time: 56 minutes

Yet another segment of U.S. 97 featuring very little, if anything between one major town and another (or at least a few miles from it anyway).

While there are a couple of places that can serve up a cold sandwich and still have an old gas pump that works out front at either end of Blewett Pass, none of them are open 24 hours and much of the drive includes much ado about nothing...or nothing to make much ado about - to be more precise.

Most of us have taken Blewett Pass a time or two in our lives and know how much it looks just like any other mountain pass in the Western United States. And while that fills up about half the drive, the other half will take you up a steep, pine-dotted hillside that's sparsely populated with the steady churnings of several large wind turbines and offers some satisfying vistas of the surrounding and distant countryside.

Although this inclusion on our list might not seem to qualify as being especially desolate, it does check all the boxes we set in place at the outset, so all we can say is, "welcome to the list...again, U.S. 97!"

#2. State Route 20 (SR-20) from Newhalem to Winthrop
Distance: 72 miles
Approximate Drive Time: 85 minutes

SR-20 is the longest highway in the entire state, so it's no wonder that at least a piece of it would make our list.

Although the highway's starting line tracks through plenty of populated places and even includes a ferry ride from Port Townsend to Coupeville, it doesn't take long for it to begin meandering into the sticks from there. And while its runs between towns like Concrete, Rockport, and Marblemount offer plenty of open space in-between, it's SR-20's gap over the North Cascades where things really open up.

Once you leave Newhalem, civilization rapidly coalesces into nothing but a two-lane road lined by impenetrable stands of cedars, firs, and hemlocks backed by towering mountains that remain snow-capped for most of the year.

This 72-mile stretch of SR-20 also features two mountain passes, Rainy and Washington, and is the only drive on our list that is also an official scenic byway.
You will find the town of Mazama on the eastern side of the expanse, but it's off the highway and features no real services. And it should also be noted that because there are no gas stations in Newhalem, we could have bypassed this peculiar little bump in the road and made the western edge of our stretch in Marblemount, which would have elongated the drive to 87.4 miles. But since Newhalem is so obviously established and does have a place to stock up on bubble gum an sunflower seeds before hitting the road again, we'll qualify it as being civilized enough to use as our western starting point.

#1. State Route 24 (SR-24) from Moxee to Othello
Distance: 75.2 miles
Approximate Drive Time: 75 minutes

If you're looking for a way to put the most miles on your vehicle while seeing the least amount of anything there might be to see, then this one-hour-and-fifteen-minute drive that takes you through three different counties is the king of them all in Washington State!

There's absolutely nothing to see here. Nope! Not even a little bit of something, as SR-24 treks across sandy badlands surrounded by gravelly hills to the east of Moxee before crossing the Columbia River at Vernita and gently bending into the barrens of Adams and Franklin Counties where the waving arms connected to thousands and thousands of sagebrush plants will be the only thing to greet you until you reach Othello.

Even though any Nevadan or Death Valley resident would likely scoff at the notion of this 75-mile drive being desolate, by Washington standards it's the Sahara Desert, the Australian Outback, and the planet of Tatooine all rolled into one. So if you really want to leave it all behind, at least for as long as it would take you to work out at the gym, read a magazine or watch an old black-and-white movie, then this drive on SR-24 has your name all over it.