FR 23 from Randle to Trout Lake

I am heading to Adams for a 7/2 trip --I and several other circus animals. <br><br>I know FR 23 is open, but am curious if in its current condition it is suitable for a sedan.

Did it Friday, it's fine for a sedan. Only a couple crappy sections of washboard/potholes, though usually after a weekend on Adams I leave via White Salmon/I-5 to see the Gorge and there are no burger stands on FR 23!!!!

I'm starting in Tacoma. On a map the back road (FS23) sure looks like a shorter distance than via Portland and Hood River, but is it any faster?

I've heard varying accounts on the time question, but assuming you can avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway, it is certainly a lot less stressful to just do the long route on pavement. Making good time on the FR's requires pretty focused driving. After trying dirt on the way down and pavement on the way back last year, our car load was converted to the paved route.

When I did Adams a couple weeks ago it took 4.5 hours from my door in West Seattle to the Ranger Station at Trout Lake via FR23. There are only about 11.5 miles of dirt/gravel.<br><br>About an hour shorter and much more scenic than I-5 to 84 to Hood River.<br><br>Go via Elbe and get a burger at Scale Burgers, been eating there since I was a kid with a cabin on Alder Lake, just avoid the Chili Dog Platter (AKA the Splatter Platter)

I'm thinking that either I had a bad navigator, or perhaps there was a closed gate we were navigating around, as we ended up on more than 11.5 miles of dirt, but even the paved sections we were on were quite windy and narrow, making them more stressful than paved (driving a boxy minivan that doesn't corner like a sporty sedan). If someone else were at the wheel, I'd vote for the shortcut, otherwise I might spend the 30-60 minutes, but of course YMMV.