Chelan
Chelan is a city of 4,000 people in the North Cascades region of Washington State. It is the gateway to Lake Chelan.
Understand
Lake Chelan, named for the Salish word for 'deep water', is 50 miles long and 1,486 feet deep, the third-deepest lake in the United States. The fjord-like topography of the Lake Chelan valley results from repeated glacial erosion and deposition, up until 20,000 years ago.
The town of Chelan sits at the southern tip of the lake, in one of the few sections of lakeshore flat enough for development. It is an agricultural center and a lake resort community.
The northern tip of the lake, including the remote mountain village of Stehekin, are protected by the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, administered by North Cascades National Park.
- 🌍 Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, 216 E Woodin Ave.
Get in
By car
By public transit
- Link Transit, ☏ +1 509-662-1155. Operates bus route 21 between Wenatchee and Manson via Chelan
- Trango (Okanogan County Transit Authority), ☏ +1 509-557-6177. Operates a bus route between Chelan and Okanogan.
Get around
By ferry
Only a few miles of lakeshore are accessible by road. You need a boat to see the rest of the lake, including the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.
Two companies operate passenger ferries, all the way uplake to the village of Stehekin at the northwest tip.
- 🌍 Lady of the Lake, 1418 W Woodin Ave.
- 🌍 Stehekin Ferry, 17100 S Lakeshore Rd.
See
- 🌍 Chelan Museum, 204 E Woodin Ave.
- 🌍 Earthquake Point.
Do
Parks
Winter sports
- 🌍 Echo Valley Ski Area, 1700 Cooper Gulch Rd, Manson, WA 98831.
Water parks
- 🌍 Slidewaters Water Park, 102 Waterslide Dr.
Buy
Eat
Drink
- 🌍 The Vogue Coffee Bar, 117 E Woodin Ave, ☏ +1 509 888-5282. Local chain offering coffee along with beer,wine, and the likes. Live music all the time. Great atmosphere.
Sleep
- 🌍 Lakeside Lodge & Suites, 2312 W Woodin Avenue, ☏ +1 509 682-4396, toll-free: +1-800-468-2781, fax: +1 509 682-3278, info@lakesidelodgeandsuites.com.
Go next
- Uplake via ferry to the remote resort of Holden and the village of Stehekin.
- Wenatchee, the "Apple Capital of the World".
- Winthrop, the frontier town on the approach to North Cascades National Park.
- Okanogan and Omak
Chelan is on the North Cascade Loop itinerary.
| Routes through Chelan |
| Oroville ← Pateros ← | N  S |
→ Wenatchee → Yakima |