Whistlin' Jack Lodge
Cliffdell, WA

Whistlin' Jacks Lodge, located on Hwy 410 just outside of Cliffdell, is a popular destination because it is one of very few places in this area where you can access food, gas and lodging right off the trail (another not far from WJL is Squaw Rock Resort). I know the first time we made this trip to Whislin' Jacks, it was really nice to be able to go directly from our sleds to a hot meal picked off a menu! Then after feeding your face and getting pumped watching insane snowmobile videos, you can gas up and keep on riding. More importantly, if you are coming from Cle Elum, Stampede Pass or even Greenwater, it is a critical refueling point in order to make it all the way back home without having to thumb for a ride.

Getting There From Greenwater

The first half of your trip to Whistlin' Jacks from Greenwater is like going to Raven's Roost: From the Pyramid Peak Sno-Park, take whatever trail you are most comfortable with to the 19 road (any of the direct/groomed routes from this sno-park to the intersection of 19 and 1914 is about 11 miles - plus or minus a 1/2 mile). Once you get to the 19/1914 intersection, continue east on the 19 road for 6 miles to the Raven's Roost turn-off (the 1906 road). However, instead of turning onto 1906 towards Raven's Roost, continue straight for another 4.5 miles to the Little Naches Sno-Park. You will know when you reach this sno-park (it'll be to your left) because the 19 road becomes plowed for vehicle traffic from this point all the way to Hwy 410.

Once you reach the Little Naches Sno-Park (roughly 22 miles from the Pyramid Peak Sno-Park at Greenwater), you will need to ride along the embankment of the snowplowed 19 road for about 1/2 mile to 1903.

Keep in mind from this point on, there are lots of different connecting trails you can take to get to WJL - we will describe one of the shortest that is also marked with the brown trail signs.

Turning left onto 1903 from the 19, you will travel about 1 mile to your first "Y" in the road - the brown trail marker sign will point you to the right and on to 615. Traveling the ungroomed 615 for about 2 miles, you will come to the intersection of 1901 - turn left onto this groomed road. About a 1/2 mile on 1901 is where you'll reach your second "Y". Again, the brown signs will lead you to the right and onto 715 (not groomed). This 1.2 mile section can get interesting because of a climb commonly known as "Ice Hill". It is fairly steep, narrow, curved, wooded and typically icy. Sounds fun, eh?! The good news is that a work group went up in October 2002 and widened the path with hopes to run a groomer through that section making it easier to ride. However since it's uncertain how often or how successful Ice Hill will be groomed, I'd still be prepared for when brakes won't work going down or when loss of traction becomes a backwards slide half way up...

After you've gotten over Ice Hill, you will come out of the trees and back onto logging roads for 2 miles. At the intersection of 585 and 1708, turn left onto 1708 (groomed) for a 1/2 mile to Milk Pond. At Milk Pond, stay to the right on the 1707 (also groomed) for 2 miles. This next part is an easy one to miss... mainly because of a misleading sign that reads " <-- Cliffdell ". So two miles after Milk Pond, or just about at the 579 and 580 spur roads off 1707, there is a trail on the left that leads up into the trees - it is directly across from this "to Cliffdell" sign that makes you think you should follow the sign... I mean, you've been following brown signs all along thus far, right? Wrong! Ignore this one sign and make the left turn up the ungroomed trail. This is the 572 and you'll be on it for about a mile and a half. When you come to the next intersection with a groomed route, this is the 1705. Take a right and follow that around for 4 miles. When you get to Hwy 410, you can't miss the Texaco/Shell gas station and Whistlin' Jacks Lodge right next door!

Total distance: ~36 miles each way

Rider Ability: 80% of this is pretty easy (especially to Raven's Roost). The parts that get tricky are once you get on the Yakima side and all the ungroomed sections described above that cross deep ruts, several wash-outs, fallen trees and most unpredictable and consequently dangerous, Ice Hill. If the efforts taken to groom Ice Hill pan out in the 2002-03 season, the ease of travel may become closer to 90% easy...

Getting There From Cle Elum

We haven't done this yet but plan to this season... People we've talked to who have made this trip come down from the South Cle Elum area through Grasshopper Flat, continuing on to Gnat Flat towards Buck Meadows to the 31 road, then head south and west to Tripod Flat and over Manastash Ridge. On the south side of Manastash Ridge, you catch the 1708 west to Milk Pond. I think once you get this far, the wisest choice would be to keep going to WJL in order to fill up and have enough gas to safely get back. So at Milk Pond, you take a left (due east) onto 1707 and continue on from this checkpoint as described above.

Total distance: From our rough map calculations, starting out from somewhere like Elk Heights Sno-Park looks to be about 50 miles to WJL each way. If you were to start closer to Easton, it adds up to be about 60 miles each way. I use Easton as a possible starting point to WJL since it's another gas stop off the trail. Of course, this is if you were to consider a giant loop from Stampede Pass to Easton (get gas) to WJL (get gas) to Greenwater and back to Stampede. More on that below...

Rider Ability: Not sure yet but I can hardly wait to find out...

Getting There From Stampede Pass

WJL from Stampede Pass can be reached by one of two ways, north via Easton or south via Greenwater (the shorter way is via Greenwater). Putting this together is a combination of routes we've already described:

Option 1:	Stampede Pass to WJL via Greenwater
How:	The first part is like doing the Stampede Pass connection to Greenwater. At the end of the second leg described there, you will be at the intersection of 1913 and 19. Head east on 19 to the Little Naches Sno-Park and refer to "Getting There from Greenwater" from this checkpoint above.
Distance:	~52 miles one way. Stampede to the Greenwater connection is about 27 miles. From this 1913/19 intersection to Little Naches Sno-Park is another 10 miles. WJL from this sno-park is only 15 miles by the routes we describe here.

Option 2:	Stampede Pass to WJL via Easton
How:	The first part is like doing the Stampede Pass connection to Easton via the "High Road". From Easton, follow the signs that mark the way "To Taneum/Manastash" and then refer to "Getting There from Cle Elum" above.
Distance:	~80 miles one way. Stampede to Easton is 20 miles. Gas up in Easton to make the estimated 60 mile leg to WJL.

So it appears completely possible to make the loop between Stampede Pass and WJL. In fact, you could even do this from WJL if you starting out from that side. Whistlin' Jack Lodge to Easton via Greenwater and Stampede would be roughly 72 miles (52 from WJL to Stampede + 20 from Stampede to Easton). Then from Easton back to WJL via Taneum/Manastash looks to be 60 more for a total of 132 miles round trip!

Area Maps

Mapped routes to Whistlin' Jack Lodge can be found in our Yakima North map. Depending on where you decide to start, you may also need Greenwater or Stampede Pass, Taneum and Manastash.

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