Pend Oreille Valley Scenic Byway
Newport, Pend Oreille County, Washington. Scenic Byway; Year round.
Details
- Where
- Newport, Pend Oreille County, WA. No street address stated. Directions
- Getting there
- Begins on Hwy 20 at Newport, Washington north to Tiger, Washington; 50 miles, allow 1 hour of drive time.
- Fees
- None.
- Access
- 50 mi / 80.5 km; time to allow 3-5 hours to enjoy this byway.
- Website
- selkirkloop.org
- Managed by
- International Selkirk Loop.
Travels from Newport, Washington north on Hwy 20 to Tiger, following the Pend Oreille River as it flows north to Canada and turning west to join the Columbia River.
Notable Events
- 1909The rail line through the byway's valley, later the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad, was built between 1909 and 1911 as the Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad, which originally ran southward from Newport to McGuires, Idaho, near Post Falls. historylink.org
- 1912At the byway's north end at Tiger, the Tiger Historical Center and Museum is the only remaining building of the once thriving community of Tiger; the store was built in 1912 and served as a general store and Tiger's post office until 1975. scenicwa.com
- River pilings still standing along the byway mark the log boom holding areas that supplied the Diamond Match Companies Mill at Cusick; vast forests of western white pine were harvested to supply the mill at the turn of the century. selkirkloop.org
People
- Frederick Blackwell, constructed the Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad through the Pend Oreille valley (1852-1922).