Blewett Pass (), at an elevation of , is a mountain pass in the

Wenatchee Mountains The Wenatchee Mountains are a range of mountains in central Washington (state), Washington State, United States, United States of America. A major subrange of the Cascade Range, extending east from the Cascade crest, the Wenatchee Mountains sepa ...

(an eastward extension of the Cascades) of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state that is crossed by U.S. Route 97 (US 97). Named for

Edward Blewett Edward Blewett (July 23, 1848 – July 18, 1929) was a capitalist, who notably owned several mines in the Western U.S. and Canada. He was born in Cornwall, in 1848, to William Blewett and Elizabeth Williams and came to the U.S. as an infant. Durin ...

, a Seattle mining promoter of the 1880s, it lies on the route of the historical

Yellowstone Trail The Yellowstone Trail was the first transcontinental automobile highway through the upper tier of states in the United States, established on May 23, 1912. It was an Auto Trail that ran from the Atlantic Ocean in Plymouth, Massachusetts, throug ...

. Unlike the many well known passes that lie on the spine of the Cascades, Blewett Pass lies on the divide between the

Wenatchee River The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for , emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leave ...

to the north and the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam ...

to the south. The highway over the pass connects Interstate 90 (I-90) between

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and

Ellensburg, Washington 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 ...

with US 2 between Monroe and

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. The route from Seattle to Wenatchee over

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie ...

and Blewett Pass is a reasonable alternative to the more northerly route over

Stevens Pass Stevens Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains located at the border of King County and Chelan County in Washington, United States. U.S. Route 2 travels over the pass, reaching a maximum elevation of . The Pacific ...

. What is now called Blewett Pass was formerly known as Swauk Pass. It should not be confused with Old Blewett Pass, which is about west of the current summit at the slightly lower elevation of . Swauk was renamed to Blewett Pass in the 1960s after the completion of a new highway alignment for US 97, with locals preferring to keep the old name. The old pass road is Forest Road 9715 and Forest Road 7320. The road closes for the winter so that seasonal recreation may take place. One should inquire about conditions with a Wenatchee National Forest office before driving the road upon re-opening in the warmer months.

References

External links

Blewett Pass road conditions
* ttp://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/B7B4D11A-EE69-3D9D-9C852F3D13D9FFCD#.UONHDXewSF8 Toure de Old Blewett Road*{{GNIS, 1526843, Blewett Pass Mountain passes of Chelan County, Washington Landforms of Kittitas County, Washington Mountain passes of Washington (state) Mountain passes of the Cascades Transportation in Chelan County, Washington Transportation in Kittitas County, Washington U.S. Route 97