Chelan County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 79,074. The county seat and largest city is Wenatchee. The county was created out of Okanogan and Kittitas Counties on March 13, 1899. It derives its name from a Chelan Indian word meaning "deep water," likely a reference to 55-mile (89 km)-long Lake Chelan, which reaches a maximum depth of 1,486 feet.
Cashmere is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,248 at the 2020 census.
Chelan is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. The estimated population was 4,222 at the 2020 census. It lies on the southeast tip of Lake Chelan, where the lake flows into the Chelan River.
Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee−East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,263 at the 2020 census. The entire town center is modeled on a German Bavarian village as part of a civic initiative that began in the 1960s. The area is a major, four-season tourist destination with festivals nearly every month and a multitude of events year round.
Sunnyslope is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,041 at the 2020 census, up from 3,252 at the 2010 census.
Wenatchee is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. Located in the north-central part of the state, at the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers near the eastern foothills of the Cascade Range, Wenatchee lies on the western side of the Columbia River, across from the city of East Wenatchee. The Columbia River forms the boundary between Chelan and Douglas County. Wenatchee is the principal city of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Chelan and Douglas counties. However, the "Wenatchee Valley Area" generally refers to the land between Rocky Reach and Rock Island Dam on both banks of the Columbia, which includes East Wenatchee, Rock Island, and Malaga.
Bridgeport is a city in Douglas County, Washington. It is part of the Wenatchee−East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bridgeport's population was 2,409 at the 2010 census. Bridgeport is located near the Chief Joseph Dam.
East Wenatchee is a city in Douglas County, Washington, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 13,190, a 129.1% increase on the 2000 census, having annexed much of the East Wenatchee Bench CDP. As of 2019, the Office of Financial Management estimates that the current population was 14,219.
The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for 53 miles (85 km), emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leavenworth, Peshastin, Dryden, Cashmere, Monitor, and Wenatchee, all within Chelan County. The river attracts kayaking and river rafting enthusiasts and tourism.
The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire, is a region of the American Northwest centered on the Greater Spokane, Washington Area, encompassing all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Under broader definitions, Northeastern Oregon and Western Montana may be included in the Inland Northwest. Alternatively, stricter definitions may exclude Central Washington and Idaho County, Idaho.
The Okanogan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County in north-central Washington, United States.
Central Washington is a region of the U.S. state of Washington between the western and eastern parts of the state extending from the border with the Canadian province of British Columbia in the north to the border with the U.S. state of Oregon in the south. Generally, the western edge is the Cascade Range and the eastern edge is in the vicinity of the 119th meridian west.
Lake Chelan is a narrow, 50.5 mi (81.3 km) long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. It is an overdeepened lake and resembles a fjord, with an average width of 1.3 mi (2.1 km). Near its upper end, the lake surface lies more than 6,600 ft (2,000 m) below peaks less than 3 mi (4.8 km) away. Before 1927, Lake Chelan was the largest natural lake in the state in terms of both surface area and water volume. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake was increased by 21 ft (6.4 m) to its present maximum-capacity elevation of 1,100 ft (340 m).
The Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness is a 153,057-acre (61,940 ha) protected wilderness area located within the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests in Washington State. The wilderness borders Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park and the Stephen Mather Wilderness to the northwest. It was designated with the passage of the Washington Wilderness Act of 1984, on lands occupied by the old Chelan Division of the Washington Forest Reserve, now part of both the Okanogan and Wenatchee national forests.
U.S. Route 97 Alternate is an alternate route of US 97 within the state of Washington. It runs for 40 miles (64 km) from Wenatchee to Chelan, following the west bank of the Columbia River opposite from US 2 and US 97. The highway travels through sparsely-populated areas along the river and passes near the Rocky Reach Dam and through the town of Entiat.
State Route 150 (SR 150) is a 11.76-mile (18.93 km) long state highway serving Chelan County in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway begins in the unincorporated community of Manson and travels southeast along the north shore of Lake Chelan into Chelan, where it is briefly concurrent with U.S. Route 97 Alternate (US 97 Alternate). It ends at US 97 north of the Beebe Bridge on the Columbia River north of Chelan Falls. The road, which has existed since the 1890s, was signed as Secondary State Highway 10C (SSH 10C) and part of SSH 10D in 1937. SSH 10C became SR 151 and SSH 10D became SR 150 in the 1964 highway renumbering, the latter being renumbered in 1987 as part of US 97.
The Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of Chelan and Douglas Counties in Washington state, anchored by the cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. According to the 2000 census the MSA had a population of 99,219. The 2010 census showed the MSA had a population increase of 11.76% to 110,884. As of 2015, the Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area was the 331st largest MSA in the United States.
The Lake Chelan AVA is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Washington State. Located in the north-central part of the state around Lake Chelan, the area is a sub-appellation of the greater Columbia Valley AVA. Of the 24,040 acres within the AVA's boundaries, only 260 acres were planted with wine grapes which was producing wine for fifteen wineries as of 2009. While viticulture has existed in the region since 1891, the area was approved as a federally designated wine region in April 2009 when it became Washington's 11th AVA.
Dryden is a small unincorporated community in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is situated along the Wenatchee River in the fertile Wenatchee Valley between the towns of Cashmere and Leavenworth. The community serves as a supply and shipping point for local farms and orchards.
Monitor is a small unincorporated community in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is situated along the Wenatchee River about 8 miles upstream from its junction with the Columbia River in the fertile Wenatchee Valley.
