Left: Head of Lake Chelan, Right: Rainbow Falls

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

Stehekin, the heart of the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, is a remote community situated along the lower few miles of the Stehekin River. With no road connections to the rest of the world, Stehekin provides a pleasant escape from life's frantic pace. Visitors and residents arrive by passenger ferry, float plane, hiking, horseback or private boat.

An abundance of activities awaits the visitor who makes the journey to Stehekin. The North Cascades Stehekin Lodge offers overnight accommodations, a restaurant, small camp store, boat gas, marina, tours and bicycle rentals. Private businesses provide a range of lodging options, horseback trips, bicycle rentals, guided raft and kayaking adventures and tours to Rainbow Falls. A shuttle bus takes visitors up the drivable portion of the road to access trailheads and camps. Both in Stehekin and at the end of the road there are plentiful trails, camps and special places waiting to be discovered.

Check the Focus on Stehekin, visit the National Park website or call a ranger station for a complete list of lodgings, services and schedules.

There are over 16 public docks along Lake Chelan including four in the National Recreation Area. Boaters using any of these federal docks need to purchase a dock site pass. ($5 daily or $40 season, May 1-October 31, to help defray maintaince costs). Passes can be obtained at the Chelan Ranger Station or local vendors.

The road beyond Carwash Falls, 13 miles (21 km) from the landing, is closed to vehicles due to severe flooding during the fall of 2003. A trail is maintained for hikers and stock to reach upper-valley trailheads and camps.

Visitors tour the Buckner Homestead

A Taste of History

Before tourists seeking isolated beauty and adventure, people were coming to Stehekin. "Stehekin" comes from a Native American word meaning "the way through," and for centuries peoples used the river and lake as a part of relatively easy passage through the mountains. In the late 19th century, U.S. Army surveyors came to chart a route over Cascade Pass, followed by prospectors staking claims on Bridge Creek and in Horseshoe Basin. For most of these people, however, Stehekin was simply "the way through," and only a few, tantalizing glimpses can be found of their presence.

Then some prospectors began settling down and homesteaders came. Names such as Buzzard, Buckner, Purple and Courtney have historical significance that can still be felt. One of the landmarks left by these homesteaders was the Buckner Orchard. The original homestead was purchased from Buzzard, a prospector turned homesteader and then largely developed by the Buckners themselves to include over a dozen outbuildings. Sold to the National Park Service in 1970, the ranch and 90 acres of surrounding area are now listed as the Buckner Homestead National Historic District.

The orchard itself was expanded to near 50 acres of apple trees by 1925. The majority of the trees are common delicious, a predecessor to red delicious apples. While common delicious trees are no longer being commercially propagated and sold, the Park Service and the community have taken over stewardship of the orchard, and the apples are thriving. Visitors can experience this part of living history by touring the orchard, adopting a tree or even sampling apples and fresh-pressed cider. For more information or to learn about how to adopt a tree, contact:

Buckner Homestead Heritage Foundation
PO Box 174
Manson, WA 98831
  or
Washington's National Parks Fund
http://www.wnpf.org, or by calling: (206) 770-0627.