The Maryhill Loops Road was an experimental road in south central Washington, United States, built by good roads promoter Samuel Hill

Samuel Hill

Samuel Hill , usually known as Sam Hill, was a businessman, lawyer, railroad executive and advocate of good roads in the Pacific Northwest...

 with the help of engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 and landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

 Samuel C. Lancaster

Samuel C. Lancaster

Samuel Christopher Lancaster was an engineer and landscape architect, most famous for his work on the Columbia River Highway. He was born in 1864 in Magnolia, Mississippi and died from leukemia in 1941....

, climbing the Columbia Hills

Columbia Hills (Washington)

The Columbia Hills are an area of hills and small mountains along the north bank of the Columbia River in south-central Washington state, USA.-Columbia Hills State Park:...

 from the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway

The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....

 to his planned Quaker utopian community at Maryhill, Washington. Built in 1911 as the first asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 road in the state, and bypassed by the present U.S. Route 97 after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the road achieved low grades with horseshoe curves. The design became the model for the Figure-Eight Loops on the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, designed by Lancaster several years later. The road is now owned by the Maryhill Museum of Art

Maryhill Museum of Art

The Maryhill Museum of Art is a small museum with an eclectic collection, located near Maryhill in the U.S. state of Washington.The structure was built as a mansion by entrepreneur Samuel Hill...

.

The road is closed to public motor vehicle traffic but is open to pedestrians and bicycles. The Maryhill Museum of Art rents use of the road for private events by automobile, motorcycle, bicycling, and skateboarding clubs. The yearly ISGA World Cup Series longboarding

Longboarding

Longboarding is the act of riding on a longboard.Longboarding is an offshoot of street skating, but, like all board sports, its roots lie in surfing. Developed as a single sport on the west coast in the 1950s, by the 1990s, Longboards and Skateboards branched off into their respective disciplines...

event is held there.