Connecting Interstate 90's Preston and Rattle Snake Lake exits is a wonderfully twisted road named High Point Way. The Preston end, with its wide shoulders and generally straight course pralleling the freeway is awfully tame. Luckily for us, thats the shortest bit. The Rattle Snake Lake end twists and turns like a serpent in convulsions. In between there are a few good corners with plenty of room to adjust for minor miscalculations. Next time you're in the area, take a break from the Super Highway and give this wonderful road a try.

Winding away from the backside of Concrete, WA is one of the most technically challenging stretches of road in the Puget Sound basin. Burpee Hill starts out exciting and grows in intensity as you gain altitude. Beginning with a moderate rise, and an easy right hand sweeper, the road quickly returns left before hiding the next right hander behind a brief leveling of the road. An enthusiastic driver with a capable car will need to brake for the pronounced right-hander. While several more of these "sneaky" corners hide on the hill, your biggest challenge will likely come in the form of debris.

The Art of Fast is The-Winding-Road's guide to driving quickly and safely on the twisted backroads we all love. Our unique ground-up approach to the subject promises to provide a consistent frame of reference as you develop your performance driving skill set. Our focus on backroads lends a real-world perspective that is sorely missing from traditional resources that preach a don't-do-it approach to the streets. The information provided here has been culled from dozens of references and millions of miles spent in pursuit of driving ecstasy that ensures accuracy and relevance. The Art of Fast will be your guide to getting the most enjoyment out of your driving adventures.

This is definitely not a road you should go out of your way for. However, if you find yourself in downtown Bothell wondering what to do next, make the trip over the Sammamish River (the slough) and up this fun little gem of a road. It's also great if you're test driving a car in the area. Steep enough to let you test the power without testing Smoky's patience, and twisty enough to test the suspension without scaring the salesman...at least, not too much.

This is another great little diversion from the hum-drum of the highway. Approaching Fall City from Redmond on WA-202, aka Redmond-Fall City Hwy, hang a right at the Tesoro gas station (toward I-90). Cross the bridge, ignore the campground and golf course, and turn left onto David Powell Rd. It's roughly 3 miles to the end of this road, but it's worth the detour.

Snake Hill is the local nickname for 212th Wy SE. The part, as 212th climbs up to the Sammamish Plateau, is less than a mile long, and often has slow moving sedans, SUV's, or station wagons keeping you in line. However, when you get this prime streatch of pavement to yourself you'll be wearing the silliest grin ever.

Snoqualmie River Rd is a classic farm country road that scrambles its way past 2 golf courses, a protected marsh, and numerous farms. Accessible from Tolt Hill Rd (off SR-203) at its west end, and Redmond-Fall City Hwy (aka SR-202) at its east end, it's an unmarked 2 lane road with vegetation thick at the roadside. Be on the look out for blind 90 degree bends, and stout trees defending the fields in places.

The pavement quality has been better, but it could definitely be worse. There are no potholes to worry about, but years of settling and heaving have left some pretty pronounced dips and swells in addition to a few patches of wash-board. The west end of the drive offers sever well banked corners. Do resist the urge to hog the road, you can't see oncoming traffic.

Heading away from Carnation, hang a left on SE 24th St (where the road T's) to keep up the property-line scramble as the road squeezes between farms. From Redmond-Fall City Hwy, head North on 324th Ave SE, keeping your eyes pealed for Snoqualmie River Rd T'd to the right.

This drive reminds me of a string of pearls. As a whole, it makes a beautiful necklace with great roads running from Deception Pass at the north end of the Island to Clinton at the south end. There are literally dozens of great sections of road with moderate sweepers sliding back and forth across the island and down the shorelines. But, just like a real string of pearls, if you look close enough, you can see the thread that holds them together. You hop on and off Highways 20 and 525, and spend time on boring, do nothing straights in between the fun bits. The views are great, but without a navigator along to read the map, you'll be spending too much time keeping track of your position and the next road change to appreciate them much. Another 2 or 3 runs would probably make the route simple to follow and the maps could stay stuffed in the trunk. The only real problem is navigating. Unfortunately it gets in the way of driving and scenery.

Most of this road is pretty unexciting. However, the southern end, where it connects with Ames Lake-Carnation Rd is an exceptionally roller-coaster-esque ride. The road undulates and curves wonderfully for maybe a mile. And that mile is worth it. This is definitely one of the more challenging roads I've found. I once got a Honda Civic air-borne here (I was paying more attention to the young lady in my passenger seat than the road, whoops).

The plan was to give Steven's Canyon, on the east face of Mt Rainier a go, but the Park service hadn't opened the highway yet. So, after some deliberation and map consulting we decided to give Skate Creek Rd a try instead.