Methow Valley Area, Washington

This is wide open country, rural and scenic, yet vast and rugged. Known for its recreational opportunities.  Nestled in the northwest foothills of the Cascade Mountains.  The Cascade Loop runs through the Methow (Met-how) Valley connecting the towns of Twisp, Winthrop and Mazama.

Twisp

The Eclectic community of Twisp is well known for its art and culture.  Located at the confluence of Twisp and Methow rivers.
As of the census of 2010, there were 919 people living here.

Love the bike rack

Riverbend RV Park is open most of the year and is situated on the beautiful

banks of the Methow River.

Violet-green Swallow are everywhere.  Helping with the mosquito control.

Winthrop

Keeps the frontier past alive with its Old West theme reflecting the town's
1890s mining boom.



Shafer Historical Museum

Showcases the 1896 home of entrepreneur Guy Waring.

13 buildings including authentic homestead structures, house the museum's pioneer artifacts.

In the Carriage House is a rare 1924 Rickenbacker coupe - one of five in the country.

  

Hart's Pass 

Slate Peak

  At 7,488 feet, Slate Peak, in the Pasayten Wilderness of the Okanogan National Forest, is the highest point in Washington reachable by automobile. The road was constructed during the 1950's as part of a defense project for the "Cold War", even though the Pacific Crest Trail passes near the summit. So why the tower on top?   Along with the construction of the road, 41 feet was blasted off the summit of Slate to make a wide, flat platform for a radar installation. The height of the current lookout was built to 41 feet in 1956 to restore the original view.  The road to the top—a white-knuckle driving experience open from about early July to early October—stops about a quarter-mile shy of the peak. Off Lost River Road, 21 miles north of Mazama.

  

Just behind us facing north from Slate Peak you can see remnants of what used to be the town of Barron.   There were a number of mines discovered in Whatcom County east of the North Cascades summits. Among them were the Azurite Mine and the Gold Hill Mine. Mining camps were common as early as the 1870s but none grew to the size of becoming a town until Barron was founded in 1892. In that year, Alex Barron, an itinerant miner and adventurer, correctly reasoned that the placer or free gold in the streams must come from a mother lode farther upstream. He struck gold near the surface above the settlement that became Barron. He sold his claim for a reported $50,000 to $80,000 and spent the money living a turbulent lifestyle. His find, however, touched off a full-fledged boom that lasted until 1907. By the end of 1907, it was an authentic ghost town. The exodus was so sudden liquor bottles were still sitting on the bar of a saloon, machinery and mining equipment, narrow gauge wagons waiting for ore, ruffled dresses of dancing girls still packed in boxes, even the stock in the general store were abandoned. Today, the property is private, behind a locked gate. 

Pacific Crest Trail

31 miles to the Canadian border.  We hiked a few miles on this section of the trail.  It was so beautiful it was hard to stop and make ourselves turn around.

 There are numerous great hiking trails in the area.

www.winthropwashington.com