State Route 131 is a short 2.07 miles (3.33 km) Washington state highway

State highways in Washington

In the U.S. state of Washington, the Washington State Department of Transportation maintains a network of over 7000 miles of state highways, including all Interstate and U.S. Highways that pass through the state. The system comprises 8.5% of the state's public road mileage, but carries over half...

 in Lewis County

Lewis County, Washington

Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2010, the population was 75,455. The county seat is at Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia....

, extending from the northern terminus of (FR 25) at the boundary of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in southern Washington, USA. With an area of 1.37 million acres , it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River. It includes the 110,000 acre Mount St....

 to (US 12) in Randle

Randle, Washington

Randle is an unincorporated community in extreme eastern Lewis County, Washington, United States. Randle is located on U.S. Route 12 and is notable as the northeastern access point to the Mount St. Helens Windy Ridge viewpoint, by way of forest service roads that cut through the Gifford Pinchot...

. The current route first appeared on a map in 1924 and became SR 131 in 1991, but an earlier SR 131 existed in the Ellensburg

Ellensburg, Washington

Ellensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 18,174 at the 2010 census. The population was 18,250 at 2011 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. Ellensburg is located just east of the Cascade Range on I-90 and is known as the...

 area from 1964 until 1975, when it was replaced by .

Route description

State Route 131 (SR 131) begins at the northern end of (FR 25) located at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in southern Washington, USA. With an area of 1.37 million acres , it extends 116 km along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River. It includes the 110,000 acre Mount St....

 boundary, which continues south (via FR 90), east of Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...

 and Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake (Washington)

Spirit Lake is a lake north of Mount St. Helens in Washington State. The lake was a popular tourist destination for many years until the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. With the eruption and resulting megatsunami, thousands of trees were torn from the surrounding hillside after lake water was...

, to in Cougar

Cougar, Washington

Cougar is a former town, and now unincorporated community, in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. The population was 122 at the 1990 census; it was not measured in 2000....

. From FR 25, the roadway travels northbound as Woods Creek Road to an intersection with Cispus Road, where it is renamed to the abforementioned street. The highway then crosses the Cowlitz River

Cowlitz River

The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens....

 and ends at (US 12) in Randle

Randle, Washington

Randle is an unincorporated community in extreme eastern Lewis County, Washington, United States. Randle is located on U.S. Route 12 and is notable as the northeastern access point to the Mount St. Helens Windy Ridge viewpoint, by way of forest service roads that cut through the Gifford Pinchot...

. Before the US 12 intersection in Randle, the road was used by a daily average of 1,700 motorists in 2007, making this segment the busiest along the route. The same intersection was also the busiest on SR 131 in 1992, only with a daily average of 3,100 motorists.

History

The first appearance of the current route on a map was in 1924, when a map of the area around Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...

 showed a road extending from Siler Creek to Randle

Randle, Washington

Randle is an unincorporated community in extreme eastern Lewis County, Washington, United States. Randle is located on U.S. Route 12 and is notable as the northeastern access point to the Mount St. Helens Windy Ridge viewpoint, by way of forest service roads that cut through the Gifford Pinchot...

. The roadway ran north from the creek to a branch of , later . The highway then became SR 131 in 1991, when the Washington State Legislature revised the highway system.

Major intersections

The highway is located entirely in Lewis County

Lewis County, Washington

Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2010, the population was 75,455. The county seat is at Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia....

.

Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
	0.00		Southern terminus
Randle Randle, Washington Randle is an unincorporated community in extreme eastern Lewis County, Washington, United States. Randle is located on U.S. Route 12 and is notable as the northeastern access point to the Mount St. Helens Windy Ridge viewpoint, by way of forest service roads that cut through the Gifford Pinchot...	2.07		Northern terminus

External links

• Highways of Washington State