A Weekend at Stevens Pass: Where to Stay, Eat, and Ski in Skykomish

Stevens Pass sits about 66 miles northeast of Seattle on US-2 — roughly an hour and a half of driving, most of it along the Skykomish River. Skykomish itself, the small town the highway runs straight through, is the last real stop before the pass.

Downtown Skykomish "Downtown" is three short blocks — genuinely old-timey, not a marketing description. The Great Northern Depot, built in 1894 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits at the center of it as a small railroad museum — Skykomish was a Great Northern Railway division point, and the town's whole layout still reflects that. Across the tracks there's a miniature ride-along railroad and a gift shop that doubles as the visitors' center. The Cascadia Inn, running as a café and lounge since 1922, is the spot for a sit-down meal in town. The river itself is a block away, with a levee walk if you want to stretch your legs before or after a day on the mountain.