The highway dips south before leaving Pateros into farmland and serving Alta Lake State Park to the south near the Chelan National Forest.

SR 153 crosses the Methow River twice heading west towards the Sawtooth Ridge and turns north to the communities of Methow and Carlton.

[4] Every year the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) conducts a series of surveys on its highways in the state to measure traffic volume.

This is expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT), which is a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year.

In 2011, WSDOT calculated that between 1,400 and 2,500 vehicles per day used the highway, mostly at the northern terminus near Twisp.