U.S. Route 97 (US 97) is a major north–south route of the United States Numbered Highway System in the Pacific Northwest region. It runs for approximately through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, primarily serving interior areas on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. The highway terminates to the south at a junction with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Weed, California, and to the north at the Canadian border near Osoyoos, British Columbia, where it becomes British Columbia Highway 97. Major cities on the US 97 corridor include Klamath Falls, Bend, and Redmond in Oregon; and Yakima,

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

, and Wenatchee in Washington. A portion of the highway in California and Oregon is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. The highway was designated in 1926 as part of the original United States Numbered Highway System, replacing a set of routes designated by the state governments of Oregon and Washington. US 97 was extended into California in the 1930s and realigned several times in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Route description

California

US 97 begins at an interchange with

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

in Weed, California, near Mount Shasta at the northern edge of the state. The highway travels northeast around Weed and into Shasta–Trinity National Forest, passing several lava fields as it ascends the northwest side of Mount Shasta. It turns east at Haystack Butte and travels around Deer Mountain, crossing the shore of Grass Lake and serving a rest area. After another series of turns, US 97 reaches its highest point in California at Mount Hebron Summit, above mean sea level. The highway descends from Mount Hebron and leaves the national forest to travel northeast across the Butte Valley, a rural area with few settlements. After passing through the town of Macdoel, US 97 bisects a portion of the

Butte Valley National Grassland Butte Valley National Grassland is a United States National Grassland located in northern California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Klamath National Forest, it is located in northern Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, ...

and passes through a border inspection station operated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture near Dorris. The highway passes through Dorris on a series of city streets and continues northeast to cross into Oregon near a junction with

California State Route 161 State Route 161 (SR 161) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs along the California–Oregon state line in Siskiyou County. It begins at U.S. Route 97 north of Dorris and goes east to the intersection of SR 139 and Orego ...

northwest of

Indian Tom Lake Indian Tom Lake is a , shallow, natural lake located in the western portion of Butte Valley, in eastern Siskiyou County. The California portion of US 97 is approximately long and lies entirely within Siskiyou County. It is also part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway system, which continues south from Weed towards Lassen Peak.

Oregon

Columbia River from Maryhill Stonehenge 01

US 97 travels northeast along the

Klamath River The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second larges ...

from the California state line to Klamath Falls. It bypasses the city to the west on an

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

and has a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

to serve downtown Klamath Falls. The highway continues north, first along the east shore of Upper Klamath Lake and later to the east of Crater Lake, through the dry forests of the eastern Cascade Mountains. US 97 is directly connected to Crater Lake National Park via Oregon Route 62 and

Oregon Route 138 Oregon Route 138 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Elkton and a junction with U.S. Route 97 at Diamond Lake Junction. The highway has several distinct stretches, and is the main east–west highway through Roseburg, ...

. The highway travels northeast, following the

Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to: *Deschutes River (Oregon) The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many ...

through La Pine and to the

Newberry National Volcanic Monument Newberry National Volcanic Monument was designated on November 5, 1990, to protect the area around the Newberry Volcano in the U.S. state of Oregon. The monument was created within the boundaries of the Deschutes National Forest, which is managed ...

, where it passes over the Lava River Cave and travels around

Lava Butte Lava Butte is a cinder cone in central Oregon, United States, just west of U.S. Route 97 between the towns of Bend, and Sunriver in Deschutes County. It is part of a system of small cinder cones on the northwest flank of Newberry Volcano, a ma ...

. US 97 expands into an expressway near the butte and turns north as it approaches Bend, the largest city in Central Oregon. The highway travels through Bend on the Bend Parkway, a four-lane expressway bypass that is supplemented by a parallel

to the east. The business route is also used by US 20, which US 97 intersects twice north of downtown Bend. US 97 continues northeast from Bend as a divided highway through Redmond, where it reverts to a two-lane highway. It travels north across the Crooked River National Grassland to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, where the highway is concurrent with US 26 and splits into a pair of one-way streets. US 97 continues northeast from Madras through a series of canyons to a junction with US 197, its sole auxiliary route. The two highways travel parallel to each other on opposite sides of the Deschutes River canyon, with US 197 to the west serving The Dalles and US 97 to the east passing through the sparsely-populated area between Shaniko and

Wasco Wasco is the name of four places in the United States: Places United States * Wasco, California, a city in California ** Wasco State Prison, located in Wasco, California * Wasco, Illinois, a former hamlet (unincorporated town) in Illinois, now pa ...

. From Wasco, the highway turns northwest to descend to the Columbia River Gorge, intersecting

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...

and US 30 at Biggs Junction. Immediately after the interchange, US 97 crosses the

Sam Hill Memorial Bridge The Sam Hill Memorial Bridge, also known as the Biggs Rapids Bridge, is a steel truss bridge in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States that carries U.S. Route 97, U.S. Route 97 (US 97) across the Columbia River between ...

into Washington. Under Oregon's named highway system, US 97 is designated as part of The Dalles–California Highway No. 4 between California and US 197 and Sherman Highway No. 42 from US 197 to the Columbia River. It is described as Oregon's most important highway east of the Cascades and serves as an alternate trucking route to the I-5 corridor. The southernmost section between the California state line and Klamath Falls is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, which continues to Crater Lake; the northernmost section between Shaniko and Biggs Junction is part of the

Journey Through Time Scenic Byway Journey Through Time Scenic Byway is a scenic byway in the U.S. state of Oregon. It spans five Oregon counties and comprises portions of U.S. Route 97, Oregon Route 218, Oregon Route 19, U.S. Route 26, and Oregon Route 7. The John Day River mea ...

, which continues east through

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Wheeler and Grant counties in east-central Oregon. Located within the John Day River basin and managed by the National Park Service, the park is known for its well-preserved l ...

Washington

US 97 and SR 20 northbound near Okanogan, WA

The highway enters Washington at Maryhill, a community on the north side of the Columbia River that is home to a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

and Stonehenge replica. US 97 climbs from the river and briefly turns west on State Route 14 (SR 14) before continuing north over the Columbia Hills. The highway passes

Goldendale Goldendale is a city and county seat of Klickitat County, Washington, United States, near the Columbia River Gorge. The population within city limits was 3,760 at the 2000 census and 3,407 at the 2010 census, a 9.4% decrease. It is situated i ...

and

Goldendale Observatory State Park Goldendale Observatory State Park is an educational facility on the northern side of Goldendale, Washington, notable for its unusually large public telescope. The state park occupies atop a hill. Access is via a winding paved road through a ...

before turning northeast to cross the Simcoe Mountains via

Satus Pass Satus Pass (el. 3107 ft./947 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Cascade Range in the state of Washington. The pass connects Goldendale and the Klickitat Valley to the south with the Yakama Indian Reservation and Yakima Valley to the north. ...

, located above sea level. US 97 then traverses part of the Yakama Indian Reservation with shrub–steppe land that lies between the Simcoe Mountains and Toppenish Ridge. After crossing the latter, the highway descends into the Yakima Valley, passing through farmland and vineyards. US 97 then turns northwest at a junction with SR 22 in Toppenish and travels through Wapato before leaving the Yakima Indian Reservation and merging with

I-82 Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States that travels through parts of Washington and Oregon. It runs from its northwestern terminus at I-90 in Ellensburg, Washington, to its southeaste ...

and US 12 at Union Gap. Now part of the freeway, US 97 runs north along the Yakima River through Union Gap and neighboring Yakima, where US 12 splits. The freeway then travels northeast over the Umtanum and Manastash ridges to reach the

Kittitas Valley Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Coun ...

. I-82 ends in

at a junction with

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

, which US 97 follows for before reverting to a two-lane road. The highway continues north into the Wenatchee Mountains (part of the Cascades) in Wenatchee National Forest and crosses

Blewett Pass Blewett Pass (), at an elevation of , is a mountain pass in the Wenatchee Mountains (an eastward extension of the Cascades) of Washington state that is crossed by U.S. Route 97 (US 97). Named for Edward Blewett, a Seattle mining promo ...

at above sea level. US 97 joins US 2 near Peshastin, traveling southeast on a divided highway along the Wenatchee River to the Wenatchee area. The highway bypasses Wenatchee and crosses the Columbia River on the Richard Odabashian Bridge before turning north onto a two-lane road at a junction with SR 28. US 2 and US 97 travel along the east bank of the Columbia River, opposite US 97 Alternate on the west side, to Orondo, where US 2 turns east. US 97 continues north and east along the river to Chelan Falls, where it crosses the

Beebe Bridge The Beebe Bridge ( ) is a two-lane, steel through arch bridge crossing the Columbia River at Chelan Falls, Washington. Located three miles east of Lake Chelan, the bridge is part of U.S. Route 97 and averages 5000 vehicle crossings per day. The ...

and is rejoined by the alternate route near Chelan. The highway follows the west bank of the Columbia River to Brewster, where it turns north to continue along the Okanogan River. US 97 then becomes concurrent with SR 20 for as they bypass Okanogan and

Omak Omak ( Merriam (1997), p. 869) is a city located in the foothills of the Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington, United States. With an estimated 4,845 residents as of 2010, distributed over a land area of , Omak is the largest municipa ...

and continue through the

Okanogan Highlands The Okanagan Highland is an elevated hilly plateau area in British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Washington (where it is spelled Okanogan Highlands). Rounded mountains with elevations up to above sea level and deep, narrow valleys are ...

. SR 20 turns east at

Tonasket Tonasket is a city in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,032 at the 2010 census. History Tonasket was officially incorporated on December 16, 1927. It is named after Chief Tonasket of the Okanogan people, a local ...

while US 97 continues north to the Canadian border near Oroville and

Osoyoos Osoyoos (, ) is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is north of the United States border with Washington state and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve. The origin of the na ...

, where it terminates and becomes British Columbia Highway 97 (BC 97). BC 97 continues through the

British Columbia Interior , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Interior" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivi ...

and terminates at the Yukon border, eventually becoming part of the

Alaska Highway