Instead of cruising Interstate 90 at freeway speeds, take a leisurely diversion following the Columbia River north toWenatchee to see their famous apple orchards and burgeoning wine industry. From there, explore Leavenworth, a Cascade foothills village styled after Germany’s Bavaria, or float the Wenatchee River. Sink into an exquisite stay at Sleeping Lady, a woodland resort designed with every environmental consideration imaginable and a mission “to provide a year-round retreat where nature, performing arts, outdoor recreation and healthful dining inspire reverence for Earth’s life-giving wellspring.” From here, follow the Cascade Loop (www.cascadeloop.com) as it heads west over the Cascades at Stevens Pass back to the Puget Sound area.
For more adventure, follow the Loop's route along the Columbia River via Lake Chelan, and on to the aspen-flanked Methow Valley and the Western town of Winthrop. Then take the North Cascades Highway (closed in the winter) on a stunning drive through the high country - where great walls of granite sweep upward to Kanagaroo Ridge, Early Winters Spires and Silver Star Mountain. Take the Diablo Lake Cruise, operated by Seattle City Light, from Newhalem. A series of dams along the upper Skagit River create vast lakes of gorgeous green water high in the mountains. A 1,500-acre eagle sanctuary is accessible on scenic float trips between Marblemount and Concrete.
For more information on the area’s natural history, wildlife and geological formation, contact the North Cascades Institute, 360-856-5700 x 209. Winding down into small rural towns, the journey links to I-5 for Seattle or continues into the tulip fields of the Skagit Valley. Blooming April through June, daffodils, iris and tulips grown here are exported throughout the world.