Naches Pass

Naches Pass (elevation 4,928 feet (1,502 m)) is a mountain pass in the Cascade Range in the state of Washington. It is located about 50 miles (80 km) east of Tacoma and about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Yakima, near the headwaters of tributary streams of the Naches River on the east and the Greenwater River on the west. The boundaries of Pierce, King, Kittitas, and Yakima counties come together at the pass. The pass lies on the boundary between the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Wenatchee National Forests, about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Mount Rainier National Park. There are no roadways or railways crossing the pass.

Native peoples used trails over the pass before the arrival of white settlers. Throughout the 1800s, the United States, Washington Territory, and private parties explored the construction of a wagon road or railroad over the pass, but nearly all such attempts failed. By 1855, nearby Snoqualmie Pass had been established as a far superior route over the mountains, being 1,913 feet (583 m) lower. In 1943, a proposal to construct a highway was written into state law and remains as the proposed State Route 168 – however, no highway has ever been built, and the trails over the pass are usable only for hiking and other recreation.