SPRING IN THE METHOW Valley is announced in iconic, yellow arrowleaf balsamroot blooms popping up on almost every hillside, bikers rolling down the county roads linking Twisp, Carlton, Winthrop, Wolf Creek, and Sun Mountain, and the reappearance everywhere of hiking trails.
In summer, the stunning North Cascades Highway—with its Alps-like views—is lined with sightseers, and Winthrop polishes its cowboy boots to welcome them. The Methow Valley Rodeo (methowvalleyrodeo.com) is here on both Memorial and Labor Day weekends, while in mid-July the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival (winthropbluesfestival.com) measures beats against blue sky. The town also draws fishermen, campers, horseback riders, river rafters, rock climbers, and more. Locals, meanwhile, head for remote locations—such as the Pasayten Wilderness, with its more than 500,000 acres of peaks, at least 160 bodies of water, and wildlife such as bighorn sheep, wolves, and grizzlies—and nearby swimming holes, such as the Methow River beachfront under Highway 153 in Carlton or Pearrygin Lake near Winthrop.
In fall, Saturday-morning bike rides are detoured through small town Twisp for the Methow Valley Farmers Market (methowvalleyfarmersmarket.com), open early April through October. Here, local fruit, produce, plants, crafts, and cheese are the stars, and visitors come away with bags of fat squash, glossy peppers, leafy kale, and sweet honeycrisp apples.
Daylight hours shrink in autumn, but in their place come sunny blue-sky days and spectacular changing colors. Hikers head for the alpine zone to admire the larch trees that punctuate the evergreens with bursts of color and to look for snow to begin dusting the craggy peaks.
Come winter, the valley is home to a network of 120 miles of cross- country trails, maintained by the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association (mvsta.com), many groomed for both track and skate skiing. Experienced skiers love hut-tohut overnight excursions on the Rendezvous Trails outside Mazama.
Also popular is the tiny downhill ski resort 15 miles east of Twisp. With just 1,240 vertical feet, one quad chairlift, and a poma lift, Loup Loup Ski Bowl (skitheloup.com) draws locals aplenty, but precious few crowds. —GISELLE SMITH
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The Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth seems at once both out of place and perfectly normal among the Washington craggy peaks. Here, even fast-food chains come adorned in Tudor detailing.
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The sky is punctured by jagged peaks. Crest the Cascades, and suddenly the heat of the eastern slopes rises up from valley floors.
Every Labor Day weekend, the Ellensburg Rodeo arrives for three days filled to the brim with good old-fashioned roping and riding, all held right next door to the Kittitas County Fair.
Set between sagebrush-covered hills and pine forests are dozens of lakes.
From our Archives
WEDGED BETWEEN THE EAST FLANK OF THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS and the sprawling 1.5-million-acre Okanogan National Forest, the Methow Valley boasts warm, dry summers and crisp, blue-skied winters.
A journey through Washingtons heartland
Romance rules in this alpine getaway.
Lake Chelan overfl ows with outdoor fun.
THE CASCADE MOUNTAIN RANGE (which includes active volcanoes) dissects the state, stretching from British Columbia to Oregon.
SPRING IN THE METHOW Valley is announced in iconic, yellow arrowleaf balsamroot blooms popping up on almost every hillside...
AT THE END of a 50.5-mile, glacier-fed lake, and nestled in the North Cascades National Forest, is the small town of Chelan, home to big blue skies and everything from sports and recreation to oenological adventures.
MINING TOWNS BOOMED across Okanogan Countys sprawling sun-kissed hills by the dozen a century ago. Many have since vanished, but a few remain as ghost towns...
FOR YEARS, Leavenworth was a logging and railroad town, but after the railway was rerouted and the sawmill closed in the 1920s, the town was in danger of dying. Then, in the early 1960s...
Chocolate-dipped aplets, freshly bottled cider, sun-warmed pears, and memories of charming towns.
Tree fruit reigns supreme in this region, which abuts the Canadian border.
Washington is all about rugged refinement,meaning you can taste wines, golf,hike, kayak, and gallery-gaze all in oneareasuch as the tourism hot spot of LakeChelan and Stehekin.
The Nordic ski trails are considered the finest integrated system in the region.
A BEAUTIFUL ALPINE SETTING makes Leavenworth an ideal locale for its colorful Bavarian-themed architecture, many fine shops and restaurants, and window boxes full of pink and red geraniums.
Some 70 percent of the nations apples and nearly half its pears hail from Washington.
From the road, Lake Chelan shimmers in the distance: blue and serene.
The snow came in the night. By morning, a white blanket lay thick and soft as a down comforter over the Methow Valley...
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Please visit our Tourism Partners
Cascade Loop Scenic Highway
509-662-3888
Chelan Chamber of Commerce
800-4CHELAN
Cle Elum-Roslyn Chamber of Commerce
509-674-5958
Coulee City Chamber of Commerce
509-632-5043
Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce
888-925-2204
Ephrata Chamber of Commerce
509-754-4656
George Visitors Center (seasonal)
509-785-3831
Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce
509-633-3074
Grant County Tourism
800-992-6234
Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce
509-548-5807
Moses Lake Tourism
800-992-6234
Okanogan County Tourism Council
888-431-3080
Port of Douglas County
509-884-4700
Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce
509-787-2140
Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce (seasonal)
509-246-1821
Winthrop Chamber of Commerce
888-463-8469, 509-996-2125