Washington State Route 141

On Saturday and Sunday, September 3-4, 2011, I drove the length of Washington State Route 141 from the river to the mountains...

RCW 47.17.275
State route No. 141:

A state highway to be known as state route number 141 is established as follows:

Beginning at a wye junction with state route number 14, the west branch in the vicinity east of Underwood and the east branch in the vicinity of White Salmon, thence northerly to the boundary of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

The little oddity of the "beginning" of the official routing is solved by the WSDOT labeling the western segment along the White Salmon River as "Alt 141" and the eastern segment through the city of White Salmon as the main branch. Thus here is the first junction of SR 14 and SR 141, labeled as the alternate. Note the numerous cars and trucks parked alongside the road. The Columbia River is behind me in this photo. It and the White Salmon River were quite busy with fisherman and boaters that day.


A couple miles later up the hill, we reached the intersection of SR 141 with itself. Thus ends Alt 141.


Back down the hill by SR 14 and the Columbia River, the main route of SR 141 begins. We're in the town of Bingen, just a block east of Killer Burgers, home of the Peanut-Butter/Bacon/Pickle Burger. Oddly tasty, but not as good as the Classic.


After driving through White Salmon, we find ourselves once again the junction with Alt 141. Curiously, the only sign announcing this junction is a yellow-diamond intersection warning sign.


SR 141 then proceeds northward through hills and farms, past towns such as BZ Corner that bustle with whitewater rafting tourism this time of year. After a few glorious views of Mt. Adams, SR 141 arrives at the town of Trout Lake, where we spent the night. The highway then bends southwestward and winds uphill through the forest for a few miles before reaching its end at the county line and the edge of the national forest. Forest Service Road 24 will handle your road needs from here on out.

Highway 141 is a pleasant drive through the forests and fields of western Klickitat County. 'Twas abuzz with activity along its length on a summer holiday weekend, but is probably exceedingly quiet and peaceful other times of the year.