Washington State Route 542
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| Mount Baker Highway | ||||
SR 542 is highlighted in red.
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| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of I‑5 | ||||
| Defined by RCW 47.17.795 | ||||
| Maintained by WSDOT | ||||
| Length: | 57.24 mi (92.12 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1964 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
 I‑5 in Bellingham
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 SR 9 near Deming SR 547 in Kendall
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| East end: | Mt. Baker Ski Area | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Whatcom | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Route 542 (SR 542) is a 57.24-mile-long (92.12 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Washington, serving Mount Baker in Whatcom County. SR 542 travels east as the Mount Baker Highway from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) in Bellingham through the Nooksack River valley to the Mt. Baker Ski Area at Austin Pass. It serves as the main highway to Mount Baker and the communities of Deming, Kendall, and Maple Falls along the Nooksack River. The highway was constructed in 1893 by Whatcom County as a wagon road between Bellingham and Maple Falls and was added to the state highway system as a branch of State Road 1 in 1925. The branch was transferred to Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1) during its creation in 1937 and became SR 542 during the 1964 highway renumbering.
SR 542 begins as Sunset Drive and the Mount Baker Highway at a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-5 to the northeast of downtown Bellingham. The highway travels northeast through suburban neighborhoods along Squalicum Creek and passes Squalicum High School as it leaves the city of Bellingham. SR 542 continues northeast through rural Whatcom County, crossing the Nooksack River and intersecting SR 9 at a roundabout. The concurrent SR 9 and SR 542 travel southeast through the community of Deming along a BNSF rail line and passes Mount Baker Senior High School. SR 542 leaves SR 9 east of Deming and turns north along the North Fork of the Nooksack River and the eastern slope of Sumas Mountain to Kendall, where it serves as the southern terminus of SR 547. The Mount Baker Highway turns east and continues along the Nooksack River North Fork into the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest at Glacier in the foothills of Mount Baker. SR 542 turns south and serves the Mt. Baker Ski Area on the northeast side of the mountain before splitting into a one-way pair around Picture Lake. The Mount Baker Highway continues through Austin Pass and ends at Artist Point, located at 5,210 feet (1,588.01 m) above sea level on Kulshan Ridge.
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