WORN Washington Offroad Recovery Network

🗺️ Google Maps Has No Idea Chinook Pass is Open (And It’s Routing Cars on to FS70....Again)

Hey PNW wheelers, voulunteers, and campers! We have a public safety announcement for anyone heading out towards the Greenwater / Little Naches area.

As we all know, WSDOT officially opened Chinook Pass (SR 410) on Friday morning. Great news, right? Well, someone forgot to tell Google. Right now, Google Maps is suffering from total seasonal amnesia and still shows two "Do Not Pass" stop markers on SR 410 near Crystal Mountain. Because Google thinks the highway is physically blocked, it is actively routing ANYONE traveling from Enumclaw to the Little Naches side straight up Forest Road 70 and onto the Naches Trail (Jeep Trail 684). You don't even have to click "avoid highways"—it's doing it automatically. Here is why this is a recipe for disaster this weekend:

1. The Naches Trail is Legally Closed 🛑

Despite the low snow, the USFS seasonal motorized closure is in full effect until July 15th to prevent early-season trail erosion. Unless you want a hefty federal ticket as a holiday souvenir, stay off it. More importantly, it's a rugged 4x4 trail meant for built rigs, not a stock AWD crossover or a family sedan.

2. There is Literally No Road Left on FS70 📉

Even if a vehicle ignores the gates, Google is sending them directly toward a massive, catastrophic washout on the main Forest Road 70 shelf. A massive chunk of the cliffside has completely sloughed off into the canyon. Boots-on-the-ground reports from folks with legal access say the remaining "road" is saturated mud and fill-dirt with zero bedrock underneath. One wheeler reported that just idling on it caused visible clumps of mud to actively slide down the cliff into the abyss beneath his tires. If a tourist tries to navigate Google’s "shortcut" right now, they are going to need a crane, a heavy wrecker, and a miracle.

— Your friends at the Washington Off-Road Recovery Network (WORN) See less