Theme of Spring 2026: Flood damage

2nd worst flood in the past 50 years.

The central theme for spring 2026 is the damage done by winter flooding. The Washington Cascades were pounded by one atmospheric river after another coming from the South Pacific - seven of them from October 19th to November 13th. Then an almost (but not quite) record setting one that peaked the night of December 10th, was immediately followed by another large one, and then another on January 12th, and another large one on March 20th.

As bad as it was this year, 2006 was measurably 3x worse by volume whether you look at the numbers monthly, daily, or in 4 day blocks. November 7th 2006 still stands out as a remarkable 50-year record rainfall. PCT related damage was especially bad west of Glacier Peak and much of that damage has gone un-repaired.

PCT Access Roads

There are numerous ways to access the PCT. Listed here are only the most common ones.

North Cascades Highway (SR20) to Rainy Pass

OPEN SR-20 opened June 14th after repairing multiple points of winter damage between MP 143 and 148.
On June 2nd the rockslide at milepost 131 was cleared and the west side closure was move to the regular winter gate at mp 134. Prior to that, the east side closure was moved to MP 156 while damage east of Rainy Pass was cleared. Then the east side closure was moved to MP 134 (1.5 miles west of Rainy Pass) so Rainy Pass could be accessed from the east.

Harts Pass Road

OPEN. Harts Pass Road on June 24th 2026 and is smooth like Barry White.
On March 26th the US Forest Service announced that Harts Pass Road is closed pending repairs to winter flood damage. The closure began at Monument Creek Trailhead.

Section K

Stehekin Valley Road

The road is OPEN from the PCT (High Bridge) to Stehekin (Purple Creek).
The December rain caused Purple Creek to flood cutting out a section of Stehekin Valley Road and destroying the wastewater treatment plant that services the Landing, North Cascades Lodge, and NPS facilities. The lodge will not open this year. The Post Office is open. Government assistance is expected to focus on this repair as a top priority. There was also significant damage to Company Creek Road (the opposite side of Stehekin River) which does not directly impact PCT hikers. Repair work there has already begun.

[EAST] Railroad Creek to Holden Village

CLOSED, likely for all of the 2026 season. More than 11 landslides on the Railroad Creek Road has Lucerne and Holden entirely closed.

FR-26 to Suiattle River Trailhead

CLOSED at milepost 4 (20 miles from the trailhead) with 6 major washouts. No repairs are in progress. The USFS is optimistic about repairs up to mp 10.5 this year, but not beyond that for some time. Walking this road has extremely challenging obstacles.

FR-49 to North Fork Sauk River Trailhead

The Sloan Creek road is OPEN but rough. This is currently the ONLY OPTION for accessing the middle of Section K from the west.

FR-63 to North Fork Skykomish Trailhead

FR-63 (index-Galena Road) is CLOSED with a washout and a missing bridge. FR-65 can be used to get to jack pass but no further.

[EAST] FR-65 to Little Wenatchee Ford Trailhead

FR-65 is CLOSED due to damage one mile in.

[EAST] Chiwawa River Road to Trinity Trailhead

Gated at Atkinson Flat Campground 5.5 miles from Trinity Trailhead.

[EAST] FR-65 to Little Wenatchee Ford Trailhead

Open but only to 2600 ft elevation, Leaving a 2.7 mile hike-in to the Trailhead.

[EAST] FR-67 to Smithbrook Trailhead

CLOSED. All of FR-67 is closed from Hwy 2 to FR-65 due to flood damage.

Section J

There are no access road closures for Section J

That includes

Cooper Road to Pete lake Trailhead,

Salmon La Sac Trailhead,

Cle Elum Valley Road to Cathedral Pass Trailhead and Tucquala meadows Trailhead.

Surprise Creek Trailhead off US-2

Section I

There are no access road closures for Section I

That includes

FR-54 to Stampede Pass and Tacoma Pass (I-90 exit 52) - 3.5 miles of dirt road to Stampeded Pass. 8.54 miles of dirt road to Tacoma Pass. This road intersects the PCT.

NF-7000 to Naches Pass from Greenwater (SR-410) - 11.5 miles of dirt road after 4.58 miles paved. This road intersects the PCT.

Crystal Mountain Boulevard from SR 410. - There are multiple ways to hike to the PCT from Crystal.

SR-410 to Chinook Pass - Chinook Pass and Highway 123 connecting Chinook Pass and Packwood were opened on May 22nd, 2026 after the usual winter closure. This road intersects the PCT.

Section H

There are no access road closures for Section H

That includes

SR 12 to White Pass - Does not close for the winter. This road intersects the PCT.

FR-21 to Walupt Lake Road (From Highway 12) - Freshly graded this spring. 4.26 mile hike on the Walupt Lake Trail. 20.7 miles of dirt road to Highway 12.

FR-2329 to Midway - 23.64 miles of dirt road. This road intersects the PCT.

FR 5603 to Potato Hill - 30.75 miles of dirt road. This road intersects the PCT.

FR-23 north to Williams Mine (Mt Adams) from Trout lake - This road intersects the PCT.

FR-65 to Panther Creek Campground from Wind River Highway - This road intersects the PCT.