Did Chukanut Drive up north

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
03/18/2018 at 16:02 • Filed to: None

And honestly... I was pretty let down. It was okay. Definitely not worth 50 minutes each way along I-5. Highlight was running across these two on the highway. Boosted Miata and what looked like an autox focused Brz build.

Here’s a quick video of the road. It’s not bad... It’s just... There are much better driving roads in Washington. To put things in perspective, even with my winter tires I could have hit triple digits numerous times. The curves are all veeeery gentle, and aren’t a whole lot of fun unless you’re willing to risk imprisonment. And as far as scenic routes go, I’d give this a 5/10 maybe a 6. Looks like there’s some great hiking though!

Tl:dr - skip Chukanut Drive. Highway 2 offers better driving and views, Mt. Rainier offers significantly better driving and views. Hell, even Tolt Road has better canyon carving, albeit without too much in the way of scenic stops.

Next time I’ll either try 101, or highway 20

DISCUSSION (26)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 16:07

6/10? harsh. In my opinion, it’s better on the way down.

Next time you’re planning to come up to Bellingham, let me know! There are some nice twisty roads from Edison to La Conner I find.

AestheticsInMotion > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/18/2018 at 16:11

I actually tried to, but kinja was reaaaaally not wanting to let me do anything earlier this morning.

I could see that. Seems like the trees block most of the view though... Although I’m sure hiking down to the waterfront would be beautiful

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 16:12

I agree, I’d like to take my wife down for some hikes sometime.

NKato > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 16:15

We should totally set up an oppo meet in the spring. I’m thinking Burlington, and have a cruise through highway 20.

whatisthatsound > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 16:48

The drive to Mt Baker is where the money is at for an August trip.

Nick Has an Exocet > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 16:53

I 100% agree with everything you said. I drove it about 8 years ago and meh. No desire to do it again except to get up to Bellingham (which is a cute town).

jasmits > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 18:00

I kinda like Chuckanut but all I’ve had is my truck since moving to Bellingham so a scenic cruise with some stops to hike or hang out and enjoy a view is much more enjoyable than corner carving. Hopefully I’ll have something that can handle again soon so I can sink my teeth into the roads Washington has to offer, there is certainly a ton of potential.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 18:01

I’ve never driven the whole thing, glad to know it’s a bit of a letdown. The top end was definitely scenic when I drove that part of it...

Highway 2 is really fun, but I’m always terrified of police in the really fast multi-lane zones and frustrated by all the slow cars, trailers, and trucks (not to mention potholes in places) everywhere else.

Highway 101 is great (and if 112 is open, make a detour to take it if you can, because it’s even better, aside from being rough in places (worse than Highway 2)), but it suffers from a lot of motorcycle and police activity on the Olympic Peninsula loop, particularly in the east section of the loop along Hood Canal (due to all these tiny towns with low speed limits in that area).

Have you ever done the Mountain Loop Highway up through Darrington? It’s one of the options I’m going to offer for our next cruise.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > NKato
03/18/2018 at 18:05

I’m wondering when Spring will happen. Currently tentatively thinking about a cruise sometime in May. I need to get a post together for that...

AestheticsInMotion > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
03/18/2018 at 18:22

I must always get lucky on highway 2. Everyone pulls over I’m front of me, and no close calls with police. Haven’t done the mountain loop yet!

wafflesnfalafel > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 18:39

agree - it’s beautiful but too busy to do any zippy driving. And you have to constantly be watching for rocks in the road off the hillside. I had one of my diciest unsafe getting passed moments along there - dude in a hotted up older vr6 GTI passed on a fairly blind inside corner - oncoming car apears, GTI slams on his brakes and skids left, I dodge as far right as I can and the on coming car goes between us...

AestheticsInMotion > Nick Has an Exocet
03/18/2018 at 19:07

Bellingham is nice. That road would be fun on the way to work every day, but not worth going out of your way for.

Have you gone through Mt. Rainier?

AestheticsInMotion > whatisthatsound
03/18/2018 at 19:09

I did Mt. Pilchuck years ago, and went snowboarding there once, also awhile ago. Baker needs to happen again

AestheticsInMotion > wafflesnfalafel
03/18/2018 at 19:11

There weren’t that many people today, maybe because of the overcast sky and chilly temps. Even so.... I wasn’t joking when I said it was laid back enough to get to triple digits. Not that I did that of course, but eventually I just stopped driving it like a “fun road” because it was too easy to speed up to big ticket levels.

Surprisingly, my scariest moment also had Golf R involved...

NKato > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
03/18/2018 at 19:13

If we do Mountain Loop, the meetup would need to be in Arlington. That’s fine by me.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 19:47

Haven’t found any road nearly as good as High Bridge.

AestheticsInMotion > jasmits
03/18/2018 at 19:48

My problem is that my “hiking mood” and “driving adventure mood” have basically zero overlap. I love hiking Si and going up haystack, or backpacking the Cascades. But 9/10 times if I’m looking for a cool drive, I don’t want to have to go too far from my car to see the sights

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > NKato
03/18/2018 at 19:59

I just learned after a careful look on Google Maps that about a third of the loop is not paved, so that route is out... We could still do Arlington-Darrington-Rockport-Burlington. Zoidberg thought Whidbey Island would be good; It is scenic, but it probably wouldn’t be a terribly exciting drive like Highway 2 or the run we did for the Fall cruise (High Bridge to Snoqualmie Falls via Ames Lake and Tolt Hill).

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 20:04

The only time it has happened (someone pulling over to let me by) since moving to WA was on High Bridge during the cruise... Down in CA, it happened all the time on two-lane highways.

NKato > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
03/18/2018 at 20:05

I’ve already done Whidbey Island, it’s not worth it. It’s one long highway from Deception Pass down to Clinton, and it’s two lanes throughout. No room for passing (and hardly anyone gets the fuck over into the passing lane during the slow-traffic-lane sections) and if you get stuck behind slow traffic, you’re stuck.

I also concur on the route you proposed. That looks more entertaining than Whidbey.

whatisthatsound > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 20:11

I bounce between baker and stevens every week, but the summer drive up the mountain is a lot more fun than the winter sitting behind the line of cars.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
03/18/2018 at 20:14

High bridge is fantastic. Monroe has some great roads too, but I can never remember where they are. I always find them accidently....

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > NKato
03/18/2018 at 20:16

I’ve done the same route in both directions, depending on the trip, and I agree on the drive not being that great. The main highlight is Deception Pass, the rest is too infested with police and slow traffic to really enjoy (and it’s built to be a pretty fast highway).

If I knew with certainty that the weather would be at least half decent, Highway 2 to Leavenworth would be an option.

Nick Has an Exocet > AestheticsInMotion
03/18/2018 at 21:37

Never done Rainier as an adult. It’s on the todo list though.

feather-throttle-not-hair > AestheticsInMotion
03/19/2018 at 15:13

Yeah not my favorite. Wind river road is my favorite, a lot of that is the lack of traffic. Its in southern washington. I will have to check out High Bridge and Tolt.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > whatisthatsound
03/23/2018 at 16:49

I’d be down for that sometime this summer.