Highway 165 / Carbon River Area
Local Forecast at Weather Underground
Location:
South-east of Buckley and Carbonado. Located roughly 45 minutes - 1 hour from Buckley. (1 1/2 - 2 hours from Tacoma.)Directions:
- Take Highway 410 to Buckley.
- In Buckley, at the bend in 410, turn onto Highway 165 South towards South Prairie, Wilkeson, and Carbonado.
- Follow 165, to a "Y" intersection.
- Turn left at the "Y." You'll still be on 165.
- Follow 165 through Burnett and Wilkeson.
- Continue on 165 past Carbonado and come to a very high, one-lane steel bridge.
- Shortly after crossing the bridge, the road will split. Stay to the right - stay on 165.
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Follow 165 for roughly 10 miles (This could be off, I haven't had a chance to check it.)
- There is a very large turnout at N46 55.687 W121 55.221, not far past the turnoff to the Evans Creek ORV Area.
Description:
This site is a turnout on Highway 165, the road to Mowich Lake in Mt. Rainier National Park, on land managed by the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It's very large - RVs could park here without any difficulties. Observing could be done well away from the road, and I wouldn't be worried about safety at all. (The road is a good quality dirt road for much of the way. Regardless, I'd imagine that it gets very little traffic after dark.) The skies to the south, east, and west are quite open. The road runs along the side of a ridge here, so the northern sky is pretty well blocked. (See pictures below.) There is no artificial light anywhere nearby, so you can get very dark adapted here.Site Amenities -
None. I did get cell phone reception here, but it was spotty.Photos:
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Light Pollution Map:
