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Stehekin

Washington

By Yes Mom I'm Alive

Roadtrip to Cental Washington

We were supposed to go to Stehekin in March 2020. Like so many things, these plans were lost to the pandemic.

A year later – motivated by a desperate need to pretend life was once again normal – we loaded up the car and retraced our intended steps to central Washington.

Chelan

We arrived to Chelan in the late afternoon and checked into the cutest lil' roadside motel a few blocks from downtown. Tired from the long drive, we immediately headed to the lakeshore to stretch our legs, skip some rocks, and enjoy the sun.

Chelan is a small but affluent lakeside town of 4,000 residents for most of the year, but in the summer its population swells to 25,000 with visitors and seasonal residents who come to swim, sunbathe, and drink wine.

TO STEHEKIN

We woke up early the next morning in our motel and grabbed coffee and pastries from Kave Bakery before heading to the ferry.

LADY OF THE LAKE

Stehekin is a small remote village at the opposite end of the lake from Chelan. No roads connect to Stehekin; it can only be reached by boat, plane, or foot. A ferry service runs from Chelan to Stehekin year-round, with limited service outside of the summer season.

We arrived at the Lady of the Lake dock at 8:30 a.m. and watched the locals load up wagons with hardware and provisions. Most of the other passengers appeared to be day visitors out to enjoy a scenic ferry ride.

FJORD VIEWS

"Lake Chelan was formed more than 10,000 years ago, carved out by a valley glacier that extended from the crests of the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River. The narrow lake (two miles at its widest) snakes through the hills for more than 50 miles in a northwest to southeast direction, ending in the south at the inlet to the Chelan River. It is the largest, longest, and at nearly 1,500 feet, deepest lake in Washington and the third deepest in America." – John Caldbick

The ferry ride to Stehkin is a scenic 2-hour ride through a fjord-like landscape. During the 50-mile ride, the scenery gradually transitions from dry desert hills to evergreen forests and snowcapped peaks.

FIELD'S POINT LANDING

About 45 minutes from Chelan the ferry stopped at Field's Point Landing to pick up a few more passengers. Field's Point is the end of the road along Lake Chelan; the upper part of the lake is inaccessible to cars from here.

Welcome to Stehekin

Stehekin sits on the northwestern end of Lake Chelan at the mouth of the Stehekin River Valley. Its name comes from the Salish word meaning "the way through," referring to its location as a passageway into the North Cascades range. This area was originally inhabited by the Chelan people until the 1800s when white and Chinese miners and later homesteaders moved into the valley. Today Stehekin is home to 85 year-round residents, many of whom work in the tourism industry.

We arrived to Stehekin at the boat landing at the North Cascade Lodge complex. In this immediate area is also the National Park Service station, a post office, and a small general store. A 13-mile road connects the boat landing to the rest of the town spread out across the river valley.

STEHEKIN LODGE

After lunch we checked into our lodging for the night, a standalone a-frame cabin operated by the North Cascades Lodge. While there are several accommodation options in Stehekin during the summer months, in the off-season only the cabins with kitchens are available for rent as the town's few restaurants are not yet open.

We were the only overnight guests in Stehekin that evening. When the ferry left to take the day trippers back to Chelan, Stehekin felt like a ghost town.

Lakeshore Trail

After scoping out our retro cabin, we took an exploratory hike on the Lakeshore Trail, an 18-mile trail that starts at Prince Creek dock and terminates in Stehekin. We walked a few easy miles south past Adam's Point. Along the way we passed a number of cabins and homesteads, all of which appeared unoccupied.

COZY NIGHT IN

We returned to the cabin before 4 p.m., as a winter storm was forecasted to hit Stehekin in the early evening. We made a fresh pot of coffee and read while eagerly waiting for the snow storm that never arrived.

After dark, we listened to a podcast on my weak iPhone speakers while I cooked us a simple dinner of pasta and sausages.

MORNING

The next morning I woke up and peeked out the window, disappointed to see the ground was still bare. I tiptoed downstairs and made a pot of coffee while Jeff continued to sleep. I borrowed his warmer puffy jacket and went for a stroll along the peaceful lakeshore. It was just me and a family of swans at dawn.

IMUS CREEK TRAIL

After a small breakfast we set off for Imus Creek Trail, a short hike the front desk manager recommended to us.

The trails out of Stehekin are either easy interpretative hikes or strenuous multi-day affairs. The longer trails leading into the North Cascades would not be accessible for a few more months. We felt a little deflated not doing an arduous hike in this beautiful scenery, but we scouted a few exciting options for a future visit.

Tupshin Peak

The clouds of the morning parted as we ended the trail back at the lakeshore, revealing a stunning view of Tupshin Peak.

STEHEKIN VALLEY

We spent our last few hours before the ferry arrived walking along the road that connects the boat landing area to the residential area of Stehekin. During the summer red shuttle buses take visitors back and forth from the boat landing to the many trailheads and attractions in the valley.

RETURN HOME

When we made it back to our cabin, we packed up and headed to the dock to wait for our 1:30 p.m. ferry.

FIELD'S POINT

When the ferry stopped back at Field's Point Landing to drop off a few locals, I walked to the back of the boat to stretch my legs. It's lucky that I did– just as the boat was about to push off I noticed our backpacks sitting on the dock! The boat crew mistook our bags for another passenger's and tossed them onto the pier. I called for help and a deckhand jumped onto the dock and threw our bags up to me just as the boat was pulling away. Whew!

BACK TO CHELAN

We – and fortunately our bags – arrived back at the Chelan dock at 4 p.m. We grabbed some coffee and began the 6-hour drive home.

Land Acknowledgement

Stehekin and Chelan are part of an ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Salish-speaking Chelan people. The Chelan tribe used the rivers for fishing and mountain meadows for gathering berries and hunting deer.

In the 1800s white miners and traders began to settle in the region, creating tension over resources. In 1872 President Grant issued an executive order that relocated eleven area tribes to the Colville Indian Reservation to the west of the Columbia River. A few months later, another executive order moved the reservation further away from the tribes' native lands and reduced its size. Today the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation spans 1.4 million acres in eastern Washington with 9500 members.

ADVICE

HIKING ROUTES

There are a number of great hikes originating from or terminating in Stehekin. Perhaps the most popular trail is the 17-mile Lakeshore Trail, which begins at Prince Creek landing. Usually hikers take the ferry from Chelan to Prince Creek, hike 17 miles to Stehekin, camp overnight at Purple Point, and take the ferry back to Chelan the next morning. There are also several campgrounds along the way if you want to break up the hike, too.

You can also reach Stehekin from the Skagit Valley via Cascade Pass. The 23-mile scenic trail follows a Native American path used to cross the mountains. I added this route to my backpacking wishlist for the future!

LODGING

Stehekin has a number of year-round lodging options, with the most availability during the summer months. We stayed in Stehekin Lodge, located at the ferry dock. The Stehekin Valley Ranch is a popular all-inclusive destination in the summer. Hikers can also stay overnight at the walk-in Purple Creek Campground near the boat landing.

TRANSPORTATION

Stehekin is reachable only by foot, ferry or plane, with most visitors arriving by the Lady of the Lake ferry. I highly recommend booking ferry tickets in advance during the busy season (May–September). Once in Stehekin, visitors can get around by the red shuttle buses that run multiple times a day from the boat landing to High Bridge, about 11 miles up Stehekin Valley.

EAT

During the early spring, dining and food options are quite limited in Stehekin. The Stehekin Lodge Restaurant is open for lunch on days the ferry arrives, but otherwise closed. In the summer months, dining options expand to include the Stehekin Valley Ranch and the beloved Stehekin Pastry Company.

ACTIVITIES

Unfortunately there were hardly any activities or excursions available when we visited. Normally the lodge rents bikes and kayaks, but due to the early season and/or COVID precautions none of these activities were available to us. Outside of taking walks around the town and low-elevation trails, there was not much to do. If you come in the early season, bring your own sources of entertainment!