DARRINGTON — This Saturday’s special at the Glacier Peak Cafe is a wild salmon burger.
Cafe owner Ronda Wesson decided against calling it the Mountain Loop Burger just because she wants her customers to know it’s fish, not beef.
Nevertheless, the reason for the special remains: The Mountain Loop Scenic Highway is about to open.
To celebrate the reopening of the highway, the cities of Granite Falls, Arlington and Darrington are throwing a big party Saturday called the Mountain Loop Experience.
Wesson and her staff at the Darrington cafe are gearing up for a busy time and the return of the town’s traditional start of the tourist season.
“Summer is when we make the icing on the cake so we can get through the winter,” Wesson said. “We depend on our tourist traffic.”
Crews running snowplows and road graders are on schedule to have the scenic highway open by 5 p.m. Thursday, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the highway is set for noon Saturday, said Peter Forbes, Darrington district ranger with the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
This is the first summer opening of the entire highway in five years.
In 2003, torrential rains and flooding washed out roadways and bridges, causing $10 million worth of damage to the 50-mile link between Darrington and Granite Falls. After years of repair work, the Forest Service opened the highway in October for several weeks before snowfall closed the road at Barlow Pass.
Repairs to many Forest Service roads along Sauk and South Fork Stillaguamish rivers damaged in 2003 and 2006 floods are not complete. But it was especially important to get the Mountain Loop Highway open, Forbes said.
Along with being a beautiful drive and the way into several wilderness areas, the road serves as a back-door route for those in Granite Falls and Darrington and also provides a seasonal economic shot in the arm to Darrington businesses, he said.
In addition, the highway has historical and cultural significance that is important to Snohomish County. Local tribes used the route, followed by miners, loggers and outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
Considering all this, a celebration of the loop’s opening this week seemed like a natural fit, Forbes said.
“I sent out feelers to the mayors in the area and they all thought the Mountain Loop Experience celebration was worth pursuing,” Forbes said.
Activities in the cities Saturday include street fairs and markets, a kids parade, a visit by Smokey Bear, music, car shows, foot races, a baseball tournament, barbecues and fireworks.
Granite Falls Mayor Lyle Romack said his city plans to make the celebration an annual event.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this opening,” Romack said. “We’re thankful to the county and the Forest Service for giving us access to one of the most beautiful places in Western Washington.”
While Arlington is at the gateway to the loop, Arlington Mayor Margaret Larson figures her city will benefit from the fact that rising fuel prices might mean that those in the region will vacation closer to home.
However, it is perhaps in Darrington that the highway opening is most significant.
When the road washed out in 2003, the town saw a significant decrease in sales tax revenue and the failure of a number of businesses, Mayor Joyce Jones said. And when the road opened briefly last fall, activity in town increased noticeably, she said.
“The timber industry isn’t what it used to be,” Jones said. “The Mountain Loop Highway brings more tourists to town, and we need that economic boost.”
At the Glacier Peak Cafe, the cupboards are stocked and ready for the anticipated extra traffic Saturday, said owner Wesson.
“Everybody is working that day. We’re really looking forward to it,” she said. “If the weather holds, it should be a fantastic weekend.”
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