On this trip I was going to concentrate on a nice Resort & several small towns
and photograph the fall foliage in between.
So I started with Lake Mayfield Resort and Marina @ Milepost 82.7
Heavy fog when I got there, started clearing two hours later. Beautiful Resort!
Lake Mayfield Resort and Marina website

Stopped at grocery store in little town of Mossyrock. Milepost 87
Then just past the town of Mossyrock, went over the Cowlitz River bridge.
Stopped at Mossyrock Dam/Riffe Lake Viewpoint

Next stop was at the small logging town of Morton, Milepost 97.5
It is also the turnoff to go to Elbe.
Neat logging town. One house was surrounded by huge trees.

Next stop was at Randle. Milepost 115. Not really a town.
Just one store, one gas station, one motel, one restaurant and a Ranger Station.
It is also the turnoff to Mt St Helens Windy Ridge and splits from FR25 to FR23, to Mt Adams,
Takhlakh Lake, Trout Lake and on down to Hood River, Oregon on the Columbia River.

Surrounding Randle was beautiful country and you could see Mt Adams

Cowlitz River Bridge

Next stop was at Packwood. Milepost 129. This was my favorite town on this trip!
Several gas stations, stores, cafes and lodging in Packwood.
I stayed at the Packwood Inn, a rustic but very clean Inn.
I could see Mt Rainier from my window and across the street were some Elk feeding.
This is also the junction to west side of Mt Rainier.

In the morning, I headed for Palisades Viewpoint at Milepost 141.
This was a beautiful stop rest stop. You could see Mt Rainier from here and the
Palisades which are a rock formation of dacite columns
(formed as a result of volcanic activity) on the west side of Ayance Canyon.
From here I went back down to Milepost 138 to turn off to go to Mt. Rainier National Park
where I went to Tipsoo Lake, then back down to Stevens Canyon to Reflection Lake & Paradise.

Next Spring, I plan to come back up here to White Pass Scenic Byway and
continue the 50 miles up to Naches as there is a lot to see along the way there.
From Naches I will take the Chinook Scenic Byway Loop, then to Sunrise and home.
I will update this website after I make that trip.