Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, Washington, United States

5Gary H 5:00 PM Oct 4, 2012

Nice Boat Ride
We booked our trip the evening before. There was a lot of smoke in the air from nearby fires and we were concerned about it blocking our view of the mountains. The next morning the wind had blown the smoke away and we had a lovley day for our cruise up the lake. The trip is about four hours up and four hours back with about 90 minutes in Stehekin at the end of the lake. The first two hours up and the last two hours down are not particularly interesting, but the rest of the trip was wonderful. The only wild life we saw was a herd of bighorn sheep, but the mountains were spectacular. The deeper you go into the mountains the better it gets. In Stehekin we took a short tour to Rainbow Falls. The trip was worth the $8 cost. On the return from the falls the bus stopped at a bakery where we were able to purchase a really great cinnamon roll.

4Debra S 5:00 PM Apr 3, 2013

The Desert in Washington? Really?
Hi readers! After traveling to almost every State in the Nation, I have to admit, Washington has it all...well, at least in the summer, which is the only time I've been there. I was visiting friends in Seattle, and ended up at Lake Chelan. The drive was 3 hours of magical and spectacular sights. I come from the Desert of Scottsdale AZ, so I know Mountains, but the Mountains from Seattle to Lake Chelan make ours here in AZ look like a cartoon. These mountains on this drive are so HIGH and GREEN it is hard to keep your eyes on the road. It is just absolutely mesmerizing.The temperature goes from 40 degrees in Seattle and went up to almost 90 degrees by the time we arrived at Lake Chelan. And it was DRY! Who knew? Dry heat is NOT a word I would think anyone would use describing Washington. The lake is serene of course but the surrounding area is like a story book of quaint homes, boats just sitting still in the water as though they are posing for a Painting to be made. There are plenty of fun, down to earth, hotels surrounding the lakeside that have BBQ's in the grassy areas facing the lake. There is plenty of entertainment for the kids such as fun slides going into the lake, swimming poos and more. If I still had children to raise this would be the best spot of a family vacation when residing in the Washington.