North Central Washington
We’ve compiled the best of the best in North Central Washington - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We’ve compiled the best of the best in North Central Washington - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
At this lush green oasis, high atop bluffs near the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers, visitors can commune with a blend of native rocks, ferns, mosses, pools, waterfalls, rock gardens, and conifers. Herman Ohme purchased the land in 1929 as a private family retreat and developed the gardens—now owned and managed by Chelan County—for his wife, Ruth.
This 125-foot-tall hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River, about 8 miles north of Wenatchee, supplies power to about 7 million people. There's much for visitors to see and do here, including a 17-acre park with picnic shelters and great river views. The Discovery Center has interactive exhibits and fish-viewing windows, and the Museum of the Columbia contains the pilothouse of the late-19th-century sternwheeler Columbia, Native American tools and replica dwellings, and loggers' and railroad workers' tools. As of this writing, all of the dam's visitor facilities were undergoing a major expansion that's slated for completion in spring 2021.
Surrounded by snowcapped mountain peaks 11 miles northwest of Wenatchee, Cashmere is one of Washington's oldest towns, founded by Oblate missionaries back in 1863, when the Wenatchi and their vast herds of horses still roamed free over the bunch grasslands of the region. Today Cashmere is the apple, apricot, and pear capital of the Wenatchee Valley. Aplets and Cotlets/Liberty Orchards Co., Inc. was founded by two Armenian brothers who escaped the massacres of Armenians by Turks early in the 20th century. When a marketing crisis hit the orchards in the 1920s, the brothers remembered dried-fruit confections from their homeland, re-created them, and named them aplets (made from apples) and cotlets (made from apricots). Free samples are offered during the 15-minute tour of the plant. If production isn't taking place, be sure to watch the video in the candy shop, which displays memorabilia and usually has specially priced confections.
At this engaging living history museum on the edge of the historic hamlet of Cashmere—midway between Wenatchee and Leavenworth—you can explore an excellent collection of Native American artifacts, as well as 20 pre-1900 Chelan County buildings that have been reassembled and furnished with period furniture and other historic objects. Surrounded by snowcapped mountain peaks, Cashmere is one of Washington's oldest towns, founded by Oblate missionaries back in 1863, when the Wenatchi and their vast herds of horses still roamed free over the bunch grasslands of the region.
On the lake's less crowded southwest shore, 9 miles northwest of Chelan, this 127-acre park with 6,000 feet of shoreline is a favorite hangout for soaking up sunshine and accessing the water. There are docks, a boat ramp, campsites, boat rentals, food service, and plenty of picnic areas.
Keeping alive an 18th-century English tradition that evolved into a musical form, 14 ringers play 108 bells covering 5½ chromatic octaves. The bells are rung as part of the town's Christmas festivities and also in early May.
A 2,694-square mile forest (it's a little bigger than Delaware), including much of the mountain and forest land around North Cascades National Park, this national forest has miles of trails, but because the snowline is quite low, the upper ridges and mountains are covered much of the year. This makes for a short hiking, climbing, and mountain-biking season, usually from mid-July to mid-September or early October—but winter brings skiing and snowmobiling. The wildflower season is also short, but it's spectacular; expect fall color by late August or early September. The 10,778-foot-high, snow-covered volcanic dome of Mt. Baker is visible from much of Whatcom County and from as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Seattle. The nearest year-round ranger office to this part of the forest is in Glacier, but there's also a summer office in Deming, known as the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, near Artist Point, at milepost 56 on the Mt. Baker Highway (Highway 542). At both centers, you can pick up trails maps and get advice on hiking and exploring the northern end of the forest.
Here, chinook salmon are released into the river in the hope they will return someday to spawn and keep the species alive while still providing fish to catch. Even if nothing's spawning, the view of millions of eggs in the nursery or thousands of small, 4-inch "fries" wriggling in the aquarium is something to see.
More than 7,000 modern and antique nutcrackers—some of them centuries old—are displayed in this museum. You can also view exhibits on the region's Native American heritage and pioneer families presented by the Upper Valley Historical Society. The museum gift shop stocks nutcrackers of all sizes and in the likeness of all kinds of characters.
About 10 miles north of Lake Chelan State Park, this 232-acre park also abuts the lake's southern shore but attracts even fewer crowds. It's truly a place to get away from it all, and there are plenty of tent and RV sites as well as day-use amenities including picnic tables and a marina.
Hiking trails and bird-watching abound at this pretty city park, located along the banks of the Wenatchee River just steps from downtown shops and restaurants.
Displays include local Native American and pioneer artifacts, the story of the Washington apple industry, and the 1931 landing of the first-ever flight across the Pacific. Children enjoy the hands-on area and the model railway. There are also Northwest artist exhibits.
{{ item.review }}
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Sights in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions: