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Road Trip Review: Lake Chelan

By Erin Chamberlain, Cherry Valley Macaroni Kid publisher August 6, 2015
Looking to fit in one more family trip this summer? Lake Chelan is a popular summertime destination within reasonable driving distance and offers tons of family fun, but it can be expensive and I’m not one for big crowds.  Find out how my family did Chelan on a reasonable budget this summer and some off the beaten path ideas to try with your family!

Where to Stay

There are numerous opportunities for camping on the lake in Chelan, but the sites are close together (don’t expect privacy) and can be littered with late-night partiers.  Not ideal when you have young children that need to sleep and are trying for a relaxing escape!  And basic hotels and condos can soar to $400 a night – yikes – and many don’t accept pets.

We stayed outside of Manson, on the north side of Lake Chelan at Chelan Rentals Resort.  I was pretty proud of this find, as we booked a 2-bedroom, pet-friendly cabin for $200 a night. Chelan Rentals is a pretty 10 minute drive outside of town at the entrance to Echo Ridge, the tubing and Nordic ski area.  Our cabin had two queen beds in separate bedrooms, a living and dining area and small kitchen, plus A/C.  The best part – it also had a private hot tub on the patio overlooking a beautiful view of the valley back into Chelan! Kid in bed? Check. Local wine open? Check. Stars? Check. Time for relaxing in the hot tub!

Chelan Rentals Resort also had some nice amenities like a stocked DVD library, games in the cabins, fire pits (nice if there wasn’t a burn ban) and a private swimming pool.  We skipped the lake swimming and spent a couple afternoons at the pool.  We had it all to ourselves, and found some floaties and pool toys in the bath house, too. 

If you’re ok with staying further outside of town, Silver Falls forest service campground is about an hour away outside of Entiat and is far enough back in the mountains it is surrounded by shady pine forests.  We camped here a few years ago and loved it.  Added bonus – there is a short hike to Silver Falls just across the street from the campground and makes a great spot for the whole family to dip their feet!

Where to Eat

Manson and Chelan both have many family-friendly dining options and well stocked grocery stores.  We took advantage of our kitchen and BBQ grill and picked up kabobs from the deli for one evening, but chose to dine out at lunch.  A happy find was Lake Chelan Brewing in Manson. The food and beer was good and they had a kid’s menu.  Donate $5 to the local food bank and you can paint a brick on the wall, too!  Many of the wineries also offered food options.

What to Do

Of course, anything on the water is popular in Lake Chelan, and there is no shortage of options or rentals – from boating and tubing to fishing and the Lady of the Lake cruise.  Kids will have fun playing mini golf and riding bumper boats and go-karts at Don Morse Park.  Slidewaters water park is also a great place to spend the afternoon.  All are open through Labor Day.

Now, my favorite way to spend the afternoon was with a little wine tasting, and Lake Chelan boasts over 20 boutique wineries.  We found a few that offered family-friendly tasting rooms, including Lake Chelan Winery and Wapato Point Cellars, the latter of which even had playground equipment in the back lawn.  We also hit up one of my long-time favorite wineries, Nefarious Cellars.  They don’t produce a ton of varieties, but what they do produce is outstanding.  Plus, their patio is the perfect spot to enjoy a glass of wine and a picnic overlooking the lake.

It was over 100 degrees the day we departed Chelan, but we managed to squeeze in a short morning hike with a beautiful payoff.  A benefit of staying at Chelan Rentals Resort also meant we were minutes from over 160 miles of hiking trails (cross-country ski and snowshoe trails in the winter).  We choose a short green loop and discovered some cool lizards, deer, chipmunks and even a snake on the 1.5km trail.  Midway through the hike, the trail camp to a ledge where you could see all the way to the lake – amazing!

What’s your favorite part of the Lake?  Leave a comment and let us know! Happy travels, Macaroni Families…  And if you’re looking for some pit stops and diversions along your travel route, check out my road trip review to Leavenworth which has some fun information!

 

(I was not compensated for any part of this review and opinions are my own)