Washington State Route 821

State Route 821
Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway
SR 821 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-82
Maintained by WSDOT
Length	25.21 mi[1] (40.57 km)
Existed	1973–present
Tourist routes	Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end	I-82 / US 97 near Selah
Major intersections	SR 823 near Selah
North end	I-82 / US 97 near Ellensburg
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
Counties	Yakima, Kittitas
Highway system
State highways in Washington Interstate US State Scenic Pre-1964 1964 renumbering Former
← US 730 → SR 823

State Route 821 (SR 821) is a state highway in central Washington state. It runs for 25 miles (40 km) through the Yakima Canyon, following the meandering Yakima River between Selah and Ellensburg. Both ends of the highway are at interchanges with Interstate 82 (I-82) and U.S. Route 97 (US 97).

SR 821 was established in 1973 on the old alignment of US 97, which usurped previous state roads that were part of the Inland Empire Highway. The Yakima Canyon road was constructed in 1924 by the state government to replace a gravel road over the mountains to the west and became popular with tourists. The highway was designated as the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway by the state government in 1967 and bypassed five years later by a section of I-82 running uphill to the east.