Drive across North Cascades is one of America's prettiest

Washington Route 20 crosses the state through spectacular mountain terrain. It's one of the prettiest drives in North America and an official scenic byway. It passes through the North Cascades mountains which sport 300 glaciers — more than any other place in the USA except Alaska. Most of the glaciers are in North Cascades National Park.

Admission to the park is free. Campgrounds are plentiful, both in the park and on bordering National Forest lands.

The couple in the photo above were snoozing in one of the most beautiful spots along the highway, an overlook at Rainy Pass. Don't miss this.

The drive over the mountains begins in the west off I-5 at Burlington and ends in pretty Winthrop, a western themed tourist on the eastern lip of the range, where conifers are replaced with cowboys. A good place to camp is in the naitonal park campground at Newhalem near the Ross Reservoir dam which generates electricity for power hungry Seattle more than 100 miles away. In Winthrop, the pretty Pine Near RV Park is a five-minute walk from downtown, with its many tourist shops and restaurants.