Motorcycle Rides

Blue Moose Cabins welcomes many riders each summer to explore the Kettle Falls area.

Many of the country's best motorcycle rides fall within the borders of Washington (WA) state. The state is blessed with a vast diversity of breathtaking scenery including the Pacific coast, the Olympic Peninsula, the Cascade Mountains, and our corner of the state, the incredible Columbia River basin.

Many outstanding motorcycle roads abound if you know where to look. My suggestion is of course ... stay at the Blue Moose Cabins a few days and take one of these rides each day returning each time to the comfort of our cabins. The following are only a sample of the rides available around this region.

Ride #1 - A little Bit of Everything

(Chewelah, Usk, Tiger and Colville).

The real beauty of this 140 mile one day ride is based on the fact that a lot of the ride is along nice lonely roads surrounded by beautiful scenery but still has the twists and sweeping curves that make the ride fun.


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The ride requires you to first travel south on Highway 395 to the community of Chewelah. Head east though downtown and follow the signs to 49 degrees north ski area; there is a stop light at this intersection. Flowery Trail Rd, road that was completely rebuilt around 2004 to accommodate the growing ski area should provide most riders with a twistie thrill while riding the great sweepers throughout and a few tight hairpins of this mountain road. The Road runs from Chewelah to Usk past the 49 degrees north ski area. The scenery is beautiful; a typical Inland Northwest mountain road. Lots of wild life may be seen. Great views to the west and east from both sides of the mountain pass. From the west side you gain elevation very quickly and the turns are fairly tight. Once you reach the top of the pass, the east side opens up to a series of great sweepers as you wind down the canyon. It has a posted 25 mph coming out of Chewelah – Watch your speed as it can be a speed trap. Traffic is always light in the summer as this is a skier’s road.

This part of the ride incorporates part of the Selkirk Loop 'All-American' road. The “International Selkirk Loop” was named by Sunset magazine as the “West’s best scenic drive” and selected as one of five 'Best' roads for 2009 by Rand McNally. An option is available here in that the Pend Oreille (pronounced “pond o-ray”) has roads that run the length of the river on both the east and west side. you can ride either the west side of the Pend Oreille river or the east side of the river by heading over on a bridge at the town of Usk, WA. the west side (WA Route 20) of the Pend Oreille the road is far enough away from the river that you spent a lot of time traveling on straight boring roads with no sight of the water or wildlife. Most riders would recommend you take the roads on the east side of the river!

Either side you travel along a road that snakes between the “Pend Oreille” River and a mountain range to the east. Traveling pretty thick forests and periodically you get views of the river. Later as you head north the scenery gets even better with some beautiful pasture land and great river views. Then you’ll descend into a beautiful box canyon for a short but sweet run … make sure you stop when the road turns to gravel and take in the great river scenery with the canyon wall back drop. A little side note ... if you’re looking for things to stop at and do along this section good luck!!… this is one of those sections in a ride you take just because you want to get away from people.

Once you reach Tiger, WA head west on WA Route 20 till you get to Colville, WA. This section of the ride travels through the pristine Colville and Kaniksu National Forests. spring and early summer the fields are green, the forest, healthy and lush, and when it opened up the fields, green and fertile. Along the way there are a couple of small beautiful lakes and a waterfall area called Crystal Falls. Towards the west side of the route it opens up a little more and you get some good views of mountains and some nice homes along the way. The best thing about this section for many is the section’s fun factor. Nnon-stop sweepers only interrupted by short straights that were actually welcomed because it gave you a moment to take in the scenery better. The elevation change is consistent the whole path. Once you get to Colville, WA rejoin highway 395 and travel north back to the Blue Moose for a well deserved rest.

Ride #2 - A little Bit More of Everything

(Inchelium, Gifford, Republic, Sherman Pass Scenic Byway)

Here is another 140 mile ride worth considering, but this time traveling beside Lake Roosevelt, into Colville Confederatted Tribe Reservation, turning through lush forest mountain trail to lakes, making your way to historic gold mining community of Republic, WA (formerly Eureka Gulch), and then returning over Sherman Pass Scenic Byway, the highest maintained pass in Washington. An option would be to catch the Gifford Ferry back across the Lake and return to Kettle Falls on highway 25 on the other side of Lake Roosevelt. Either way the scenery is awesome, and the potential for sweeping curves or twisty mountain pass travel makes this a fun ride.


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Leaving the Cabins, travel south to the highway 20 turnof towards Republic, This is the beginning of the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway. a few miles up the road there is the East Gateway pullout positioned to set the stage for the traveler as they are about to traverse the Kettle Range. WELL WORTH the stop. Continue towards Republic until you reach the Inchelium, WA turn off on the left. travel this and enjoy some great views of Lake Roosevelt and the Colville National Forest. Entering the indian reservation the scenery just continues to Inchelium, WA. At this point you can choose to either continue to Gifford taking the ferry across the lake and returning to Kettle Falls on Highway 25 or you can turn onto Twin Lakes Road and continue exploring the region and the ride.

Twin Lakes Road becomes Bridge Creek Road at Twin Lakes, Which is another spot that makes a nice stop. Continue along Bridge Creek over Gold Mountain Pass lookout. The road itself requires a little caution but the twists and turns are fun and the views of the valley are amazing as you reach the summit. Eventually you reach the turn to Republic, WA. Once known as Eureka, Republic was a wild and wooly gold rush town. By 1900 Republic grew to more than 20 saloons, seven hotels, nine general stores, catering to the miners during the Gold rush Days. Soon, the town was renamed Republic, and over the next few decades the nearby Knob Hill Mine produced an estimated 2.4 million ounces of gold. Today, Republic offers hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching and the Ferry County Fair. With quaint shops, saloons and great restaurants, Republic has an ongoing array of activities including Prospector Days, Family Rodeo, Birding Festival, Open Fiddle Contest, Barrel Derby Days and Rough Club Golf and inside Republic itself is the famed Stonerose Interpretive Center. WELL WORTH spending a little time exploring the community.

Once you leave Republic, WA you get to travel the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway back to the Highway 395 junction and returning to the Blue Moose Cabins. Again a delightful day of exploration. The Sherman Pass Scenic Byway section though has numerous stops of interest along the way.

Ride #3 - A little Bit More of Everything with a Border Twist

With the Blue Moose Cabins being only 22 miles from the Canadian Border it seems that for those wanting the additional experience of visiting a small section of Canada and the beauty that is around each corner this (130 mile) ride is just the ticket. You can even choose to extend the trip by crossing the border to Metaline Falls instead of Northport and returning via the last section of ride #1 (Tiger to Colville).


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Leaving the Blue Moose Cabins turn right and travel north on Highway 395 to the through the communities of Barstow and Orient then onto the Canadian Border near Laurier, BC. Traveling through forested hillsides, past sparkling waterfalls, and charming small towns. Snowcapped-craggy peaks glint in the morning sun as you follow a path that encircles the breathtaking Selkirk Mountains. This ride is again touching parts of the International Selkirk Loop! Curving through some of the prettiest scenery in northeast Washington, north Idaho and southeast British Columbia, the loop connects Americans and Canadians in a historic relationship of living, working, and playing in a spectacular setting. This entire ride will captivate you with its scenery, twists and curves. the down side side is that you will need to allow a little time to get through each of the border crossings. By the way the International Selkirk Loop was named 'West's Best Scenic Drive' by Sunset magazine and was selected by Rand McNally in 2009 as one of five 'Best' Roads.

Basically anywhere on the International Selkirk Loop is a byway everyone should visit whether it be by motorcycle, bicycle or vehicle ... ITS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT! In fact Destination Highways Motorcycle Guide Book rated a portion of the Selkirk Loop experience as it's # 1 riding experience in British Columbia.

International Selkirk Loop - Motorcycle rides on the Loop

Ride #4 - Getting to Kettle Falls on State Highway 20

(Winthrop, Omak, Republic, Kettle Falls)