Lake Chelan

Our ride from Chelan, Lady of the Lake I. Faster that II.

While we were camped in Okanogan, Washington, we decided to explore one of the area’s premier attractions, Lake Chelan (pronounced sha-lan). 

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, Ross Lake NRA and North Cascades National Park all run together and comprise a HUGE natural area preserved for the public use and enjoyment.

The 50.5-mile lake, with a depth of 1,486 feet, draws boaters, sailors, anglers, water skiers, windsurfers, and seasonal residents.

 

With a maximum depth of 1,486 feet, Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States, and the 26th deepest in the world. At its deepest, the lake bottom is 388 feet below sea level.

The total watershed of the lake is a modest 924 square miles with more than 90% of it forested land. 

The climate of area around the lake is varied. The south end's weather is notably dry because it is in the “rain shadow” of the Cascade Mountains. 

Both sides of the lake for the first part of the trip show signs of development.

Houses ranges in size from BIG to small line the banks.

Chelan (the city) averages only 11.4 inches of rain per year and 21.8 inches of snow. Stehekin (city at the north end) receives an average of 35.5 inches of rain and 122.5 inches of snow per year.

Although the land could technically be called desert, irrigated apple orchards and vineyards are everywhere.

 

The narrows and the place where development ends and wilderness takes over.

“Lady of the Lake” is a ferry and freight service that makes year-round trips the length of lake Chelan into the heart of the lake Chelan wilderness. From the boats, Lady I & Lady II, you can see the surrounding North Cascades peaks in excess of 9000 feet and 55 miles of beautiful shoreline. 

We chose to book a combination day-package which included riding Lady I up to Stehekin and Lady II on the return with a 3-hour layover for lunch and sightseeing in between.

Hikers, freight and commuters rely on Lady of the Lakes.

A stop on the way up to drop off freight and hikers.

 

The name "Stehekin" (stek-an) is based on an Indian word meaning "the way through." The Stehekin valley has long served as a passageway for travelers, linking Washington’s interior wilderness to the rugged Cascade Mountains. 

There are no roads that lead to Stehekan. There’s a road about 13 miles long that runs up the valley, but the only way in or out is by boat, float plane, or hiking. 

A ranger told me that that the numerous vehicles in the valley have been brought in by barge starting in the 70’s. Many look that old!

Look for the small cabin along the lakefront.

Snow capped mountains in the high Cascades.

A kayaker way out here. Must be my sister!

Besides the two Ladies I've mentioned
there is a fast catamaran that also makes a daily trip up & down the lake. 

On the return trip, the boat was slower and the wind was blowing from aft so the flag was flying backwards from our direction of travel. (??)

It was getting warm and the trip was near an end. Someone was getting sleepy sitting in the sun.

Our excursion was very enjoyable, but LONG. We left Okanogan at 7 a.m. to make the boat departure and didn’t get back to Chelan until 6:30 p.m. We chose to have a pleasant dinner in Chelan before we headed home, so it was almost 9 by the time we got back to Okanogan. 

A great time was had by all! Highly recommended!