Left: Head of Lake Chelan, Right: Rainbow Falls

A Place Apart:
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

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

Many activities await visitors who 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 , 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. Throughout the valley are plentiful trails, camps and special places waiting to be discovered.

Check the Focus on Stehekin newspaper, visit the National Park website (www.nps.gov/noca) 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 a dock site pass May 1-October 31 ($5 daily or $40 for the season). This fee helps defray maintenance costs. Passes can be obtained at the Chelan Ranger Station or from local vendors.

The road beyond Car Wash Falls, 13 miles from Stehekin Landing, is closed to vehicles due to severe flooding during the fall of 2003. Hikers and stock can reach trailheads and camps further up valley using the Old Wagon Road Trail and, in places, the damaged road.

Visitors tour the Buckner Homestead

A Taste of History

Long before tourists seeking isolated beauty and adventure, people were coming to Stehekin. The word "Stehekin" is from a Native American term meaning "the way through," and for centuries people used the river and lake as a passage through the mountains. Later, U.S. Army surveyors charted routes 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." Only a few, tantalizing glimpses of their presence remain.

Then the 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 Buckners expanded on what Bill Buzzard had begun, created the orchard and added over a dozen buildings. Sold to the National Park Service in 1970, the ranch, orchard and 90 acres of surrounding land now comprise the Buckner Homestead National Historic District.

By 1925 the orchard had expanded to almost 50 acres of apple trees. Most of the trees left today are common delicious, a predecessor to the red delicious apple. While the common delicious is 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 living history by touring the orchard, adopting a tree or even sampling apples. 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 Park Fund
www.wnpf.org, or by calling: (206) 770-0627.