Washington State Route 971

On Thursday, August 7, 2025, we drove the last of the highways, Washington State Route 971!

State route No. 971:

A state highway to be known as state route number 971 is established as follows:

Beginning at a junction with state route number 97-alternate in the vicinity of Winesap, thence northerly to Lake Chelan state park, thence southeasterly to a junction with state route number 97-alternate west of Chelan.

Cut into the hillside beside the Columbia River, Highway 971 begins here at the junction with US 97 Alt (or Alt 97, as the signs here say).


We climb out of the gorge and up to a flat valley known as Navarre Coulee. Orchards, vinyards, ponderosa pines. Houses, small cliffs. Highway 971 finds a pass and starts dropping toward Lake Chelan. Here's a photo at the halfway point.


After a hairpin turn, we are soon at Lakeshore Road. The hill wasn't nearly as high on this side of the pass. Highway 971 turns east along the lakeshore. Heading the other way takes you to Field's Point, Twenty-Five Mile Creek and road's end. Speedboats, rockslides, waterfront homes. Livin' the good life. A mile and a half west of the Chelan city limits, 971 returns to US Alt 97.

Highway 971 is a nice drive, a longer loop to Chelan, sort of US Alt Alt 97. It's more likely used for getting everywhere else on the lakeshore, though.

And I'm done! Back in early 2008, I didn't think it would take this long. We slowed down in 2015, Canada closed its border in 2021, but this project always remained on my mind. It started as a means of getting myself out of the house to see new places. Now I'll need to keep doing that, without this project driving me.

After travelling all sorts of roads, I greatly prefer the two-lane variety. Actually, just the less traffic the better. For passengers, the highways of southeastern Washington are the best, since there are fewer trees to block the view. I think I need to drive SR 27 again...