Description of the Route

Leaving Cle Elum, the Sunset Highway heads east on Cle Elum Airport Rd. This is on the original 1915 alignment. This road continues for about 2 miles then curves to the right. You would then take the next left onto Masterson Rd. This road continues to a 4-way intersection. The highway continued across the intersection and becomes Red Bridge Rd.

Red Bridge Rd. continues for approximately 3 miles and ends at Teanaway Rd. Take a right onto Teanaway Rd. and continue south as it curves to the left onto Ballard Hill Rd. W. Follow Ballard Rd. W for about a mile and a half then turn left onto Swauk Prairie Rd. 

Continue north and bear to the right at the curve and stay on Swauk Prairie Rd. At the fork bear right and continue down the hill to SR 970.

Turn right onto SR 970 and continue north. At the junction of SR 970 and US 97 was the town of Virden. Nothing remains of this town today. From 1915 to 1922 the Sunset Highway continued south on Burke Rd. toward Ellensburg.

The earliest route across Blewett Pass was built during the the gold rush of the 1870's for miners who were in search of gold. In 1891 a wagon road was built following an old Indian trail and this was the beginning of the old Blewett Road. 

In 1922 the road was improved and the Sunset Highway was rerouted to Wenatchee on this new route. The road was paved in 1925. This road was improved again in the 1930's and by the mid 1940's the road was becoming obsolete due to the many twists and turns. In 1956 the road was realigned to the current US highway 97.

As you start north on US 97 you will pass by Liberty Rd. At this intersection the original town of Liberty once stood along the banks of Swauk creek. In 1916 the Liberty Post Office was moved up the Liberty road to the current location. Liberty today is a living ghost town and worth the side trip.

Continuing north on US 97 the road is mostly on the original route. In about 10 miles you will come to the turn off onto the Old Blewett Pass Highway. From here you can drive for about 10 miles on the old road until you meet back up to US 97. 

In roughly 2 miles you will arrive in the ghost town of Blewett. There is a nice spot to pull over and explore this area. You will see the abutments to one of the many concrete bridges along the old route. You will also see a historical marker here.

From here the old route continued on US 97 for about a half mile and then the old road splits from the current road crosses the creek and continues north on the east side of the creek. This part of the old road is not drivable. many parts have caved away from erosion.

The old route continued along the ridge for about 2 miles and connects at the end of Ingalls Creek Rd. You can drive up Ingalls Creek Rd. to the end and walk along the old road for a mile then you will come to the big slide that took out the roadway.

You continue north on Ingalls Creek Rd to where it connects back to US 97. Then north on US 97 to Old Blewett Rd. Right onto Old Blewett Rd. This part of the old road continues for about a mile and a half and connects back to US 97.

In about a mile as US 97 curves to the right the old road continued straight ahead on to what is now a private driveway. The road crossed the creek and veered to the right onto Mountain Home Ranch Rd. From this road the old highway met up with US 97 and then turned left onto Campbell Rd. 

From Campbell Rd. the highway meets back up to US 97 and then turns left onto Corcoran Rd. The highway follows this road for about 3/4ths of a mile and connects back up to US 97. This road today dead ends and becomes a private driveway.

Back on US 97 the highway continues north and turns left onto Blewett Cutoff Rd then right onto Old Blewett Pass Hwy. Today this road dead ends before it reaches US 97. Originally the highway crossed over US 2 and connected to what is now Jeske Rd. and follows this road to Saunders Rd. Turn right and follow this road to the intersection of Saunders Rd and Foster Rd.

In the early days the route would have continued across US 2 to connect with Deadman Hill Rd. This older road connected back up to Stines Rd. Just past Dryden. I believe that by the time the Sunset Highway we rerouted over Blewett Pass that the road into Dryden was completed.

At the intersection of Foster Rd. and Saunders Rd. the highway crossed over the intersection to Motel Rd. which then merged onto what is now US 2 crossed the Wenatchee River and then veers to the left onto School St. There is no exit here.

Along School St. I found a few date stamps in the concrete dated 1926. Following School St. the highway continued into Dryden on Main St. I found some more dated concrete along Main St. Continuing on Main St. the highway crossed over US 2 to connect with Stines Rd. This part of the road has been severed by US 2.

Stines Rd continues toward Wenatchee for about 3 miles as it becomes Sunset Highway. One of the few places the original road retains it name. The Sunset Highway continues to S. Division St. turns left and then right onto Cottage Ave which is the main St of Cashmere.

Cottage Ave continues through Cashmere crosses the Wenatchee River then across US 2 and connects with Eels Rd. The highway continues on Eels Rd. to Mt Stuart Rd. then crosses US 2 and connects to Old Monitor Rd. This part is severed by US 2 so you can't cross here.

Following Old Monitor Rd. the highway then crosses US 2 to Red Apple Rd. then curves to the right onto Selfs Motel Rd. Then continues to merge into US 2. The old highway is now underneath US 2. Following US 2 for about a mile the highway turns left onto E. Main St.

The highway continues on E. Main St. as it turns into Easy St. for about 5 miles where it meets up with SR 285 before it crosses over the Wenatchee River. The highway then continues on SR 285 as it becomes Wenatchee Ave. and into Wenatchee.