2 Best Sights in Cle Elum, Washington Wine Country

Northern Kittitas County Historical Society Museums

The local historical society preserves two distinct aspects of the town's colorful history. At the three-story 1914 Carpenter House Museum, you can view rotating art exhibits and see furnishings, clothing, and historical documents that belonged to some of the community's founding families. A few blocks away on Cle Elum's main drag (221 East 1st Street, closed early September–late May), the Telephone Museum contains the manual switchboard that the town used until 1966 (the town was one of the last in the nation to switch to automated telephone exchanges), as well exhibits on the history of telephone technology and memorabilia related to the area's vibrant mining heritage.

Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail

Although this rails-to-trails multiuse throughway stretches for 250 miles across Washington, following the former route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad, this section over the Cascades and into Cle Elum is one of the more scenic and popular. Formerly known variously as the John Wayne Pioneer and Iron Horse Trail, it climbs over Snoqualmie Pass, burrows through Snoqualmie Tunnel (it's closed in winter), and then runs alongside several alpine lakes on its way to the old rail station in South Cle Elum (an excellent place to pick up the trail). From here you can also continue east toward the Columbia River through Ellensburg, if you're up for a longer adventure. The headquarters of this linear park is at Lake Easton State Park, 15 miles west of Cle Elum and just off Interstate 90. The trail is open to hiking, jogging, biking, and horseback riding, as well as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter.

Family Trail
801 Milwaukee Ave., Cle Elum, Washington, 98922, USA
509-656–2230
www.parks.wa.gov
Sights Details
Rate Includes: Parking $10