Mount Rainer National Park St Helens National Park

• Visiting St Helens and/or Rainier... both have windy roads up to the visitor centers but rest of the ride is meh
• Out to Neah Bay
• The three pass blast, stringing together I90, Hwy 97 and Hwy 2. Lots of mountain passes and eastern WA highways that can be added to extend the ride.
• Or just lazily touring some of the islands like Orcas or Whidbey.

The usuals

This is what I came to say, fantastic rides. I do them at least once a year if not more.

There are a ton of good roads in WA and also next door in ID and MT. And a lot of places to avoid. If you have time to shop around for a used copy of Destination Highways that's pretty much all you need. It is the bible of every fun, twisty, scenic road in the state.

For some starters, Highway 9 around Lake McMurray is excellent. Fun side diversions are Mosquito Lake Road, Lake Cavanaugh Road, and Lake Whatcom Road.

You could take 9 south from Sumas, then at Sedro Wooley, instead of turning east on Highway 20 go a bit farther, then turn east (left) on S. Skagit Highway. It follows the river east like 20, but is way more fun with a couple downhill decreasing-radius corners that will thrill you, or scare you.

At the junction with Concrete/Sauk valley turn left, join Highway 20, and continue on to Winthrop for a late lunch/early dinner. Spend the night in Winthrop, then take 97 South to the junction with US 2 and back west across Stevens Pass. It's an easy 2-day trip, but can be done in one if you get an early start and have an iron butt.

Try to do that on a weekday, the weekend traffic is abysmal.

Got time to head farther south? Get down to a tiny town called Randle, then take Forest Service Road 25 (FS-25) south up the southern side of Mt. St. Helens. It hugs the side of the mountain and while the road is in terrible shape due to constant slides and washouts, the scenery and the twisties will be worth it. It's a one-way trip, so you go in and backtrack out (Google Maps is wrong btw). This is also a one-day trip but will be a tiring push to get back home. A little BnB in or near Randle would make this an easy 2-day trip.

Gonna stay in or near Seattle? Take a ferry across Puget Sound to Kingston, then head west on 104. Just after Hood Canal it turns into 101, and don't miss the turnoff for Thorndyke Road, and Dabob Bay road. Go all the way to Port Angeles, stop for lunch at a seafood restaurant, then go just outside town and take a right on Black Diamond road. Like a Black Diamond ski run, it'll twist and turn so much you'll forget which way you're going. Turn right when you get back to 101 and head back to PA, but turn left at the next junction and take 113 out thru Joyce to Sekiu then Sappho. It's way less traveled than 101, has way less enforcement, and twists and turns its way up the cliffs along the Straits with killer views.

It's an easy one-day trip but will take all day, especially considering the ferry rides. But after a long day in the saddle, an evening ferry ride back into town is a great way to conclude a ride. Get on the 10:10am boat if you plan to do this in one day.

Want some more fun roads in the south Snohomish/north King County area? Ben Howard Rd, Jordan Rd, OK Mill Rd, Carnation Valley, Redmond-Fall City, Ames Lake, and a few others are easy lunch rides. There's a group of riders who leave Microsoft's Redmond Campus every Friday for a lunch ride out to Carnation and afaik they still allow outsiders to join them. Be warned, their average pace borders on insanely illegal.

And ignore everyone who suggests Chuckanut Drive, it's a clusterfuck infested with RV's and slow-moving cagers terrified of corners. You won't have any fun.

If you're willing to go east, crossing into the US at Paterson puts you on Highway 25, which is absolutely worth doing. When you get to Kettle Falls switch to 395 and follow it south to Spokane. Or stay on 395 to Fruitland and pick up US 2 west back to Seattle. It's kind of boring but the scenery through the coulees is amazing. Spend the night in Leavenworth if you want to break it up into a couple of days.

If you have the time, there are some great roads out around Hood Canal that are also a long but do-able one-day trip from Seattle. Best done during the week rather than on the weekend.

Wow thanks for the lengthy detail! Will be looking into all of this!

North cascade loop is my favorite. It has everything a biker could want.

I can’t second this enough “get Destination Highways” & if your in BC they have a edition for BC as well. Great books.

Also try going up to mt baker mid summer.

Since I live on Hwy 2, my go-to is the N Cascades loop: Hwy 2 to Chelan, N to Winthrop, W on 20 to Sedro-Wooley, S on I5 to Hwy 2 and back home. Hwy 20 will be the most scenic and interesting part, and have the most curves and fun sections of the road however it’s closed for the winter at the moment.

Fill your tank before you do the long stretch of Hwy 20, it can be a bit far with small gas tanks and curvy roads making people wrist happy. Stop in the fake Bavarian town of Leavenworth for a beer and a sausage… or the fake Wild West town of Winthrop for whatever they have which is probably going to cause food poisoning. You’ll also want to stop and hang out at the Diablo overlook most likely. The east section can be hot so bring mesh as well as rain gear. Part of Hwy 20 is fresh chip seal, and it will take a toll on your tires. From a Canadian point of view, you could start in Bellingham and run it the opposite way of what I have above.

Rainier is also worth visiting. Lake Crescent is also nice, as are the west coast beaches and Hoh Rainforest but there’s also a lot of boring road in that part of the state. The 101-106 road around Hood Canal is scenic but not very sporty and can have slow moving local traffic.

Send me a PM when it’s riding season if you want someone to do the loop with, assuming my slow touring bike can keep up with whatever you’re on.