Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2 Winthrop & the Methow Valley
™
193 miles (summer) or 243 miles (winter) E of Seattle, 53 miles N of Chelan
Driving into Winthrop, you may think you've stumbled onto a movie set. A cov-
ered wooden sidewalk lines the town's main street, which includes a saloon and
a blacksmith's shop. If it's a Saturday in summer, you might even see a staged
shootout. But where are the cameras? No, this isn't a Hollywood set—it's the real
Winthrop.
Well, not
exactly
the real Winthrop. Back in 1972, when the North Cascades
Scenic Highway opened, Winthrop needed a way to stop a few of the cars that
started crossing the mountains on the new highway. Someone suggested that
they cash in on their Wild West heritage and put up some old-fashioned cow-
town false fronts (based on old photos of the town). This rewriting of history
worked and now Winthrop gets plenty of cars to stop. In fact it has become a
destination in its own right, known for its cross-country skiing in winter and
mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding in summer.
Winthrop and the Methow River valley in which it is located really do have a
Wild West history. Until 1883, there were no white settlers in this picturesque
valley. The only inhabitants were Native Americans who annually migrated into
the valley to harvest camas bulbs and fish for salmon. The Native Americans felt
it was just too cold to live in the Methow Valley, but when the first white set-
tlers showed up, they refused to listen to the Native Americans' weather reports
and built their drafty log cabins anyway. Gold was discovered in the late 1800s
and fueled a short-lived boom, but it was agriculture in the form of apples that
kept the valley alive until the advent of tourism in the 1970s.
Why an Old West theme town? Possibly because Owen Wister, author of
The
Virginian,
a Western novel that became a popular television series, was inspired
to write his novel after coming to Winthrop to visit his former Harvard Uni-
versity roommate who ran a trading post here. You won't find any trading posts
anymore, but you will find two of the finest mountain lodges in the state.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
In summer you can take Wash. 20, the North Cascades
Scenic Highway, from I-5 at Burlington. However, in winter this road is closed
and it's necessary to cross from north of Seattle on U.S. 2 to Wenatchee and then
drive north on U.S. 97 to Wash. 153 at Pateros. If you're coming from north-
central or eastern Washington, head east on Wash. 20 at Okanogan.
VISITOR INFORMATION
For more information on the Methow Valley,
contact the
Winthrop Chamber of Commerce,
202 Hwy. 20, Winthrop, WA
98862 (
&
888/463-8469
or 509/996-2125; www.winthropwashington.com),
which has its office on Winthrop's main intersection.
SPORTS & OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
If you're here for the outdoors, then sooner or later you're going to need the
Mazama Store,
50 Lost River Rd. (
&
509/996-2855
), which is a general store
for the multi-sport crowd. Not only are outdoor gear and clothing for sale, but
there are gourmet groceries, Washington wines and microbrews, an espresso bar,
and a deli.
FISHING
Fly-fishing is particularly popular in the Methow Valley, and the
valley's fly-fishing headquarters is
Mazama Fly Shop & Troutfitters,
50 Lost
River Rd. (
&
509/996-3674;
www.methow.com/mazamastore/trout.html),
