When you think of the Gorge in Washington, the first thing that pops into your mind is probably the concert venue. Which, hands down is the most beautiful concert venue I’ve been to. There’s more to do than just that though so I wanted to highlight a few cool things in the area. Whether you’re headed there for the weekend for a concert (post pandemic of course), camping or just driving through here are a few of my recommendations.

Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility

Every time I drive to eastern Washington I totally geek out over the windmills (turbines if we’re getting real specific). I don’t know why, but I just think they are so cool and have always been overly excited about them. Green energy is pretty awesome too! Well, get this, you can actually go to their facility and see them up close and guys they are HUGE! Like you know they’re big, but they’re even bigger in person. The facility is about a half an hour drive from the gorge and is definitely worth the trip. They have an info center that has a ton of information on turbines and then also offer daily tours. Even if you don’t check out the info center though just driving through the area is SO cool!

Frenchman Coulee

A lot of people come here to camp, rock climb or hike, but it’s also just a cool place to drive through and even stop to eat lunch. It’s right near the river and the rock formations are so cool to look at! Washington state’s change in terrain is so cool to me and this is a great place to enjoy it.

Cave B Estate Winery

If you’re staying in the area and you’re looking to do something a little classy visit Cave B Estate Winery! Central and eastern Washington are wine country and if you’re going to drink, you might as well make it local! The views from the winery are stunning too so I definitely recommend a visit!

Columbia River Scenic Overlook

If you’re headed back west, or on the way to see the turbines, I highly recommend stopping at the Columbia River Scenic Overlook. It’s right off I-90 at exit 139 and the views are spectacular. I know sometimes stopping right off the road feels so touristy… but SO worth it! If you go in the summer though I’d just recommend stay on the path and look out for snakes! It’s right in the sun and you know they like to get their sun on in the summer. My mom always told us this growing up when we’d go there, and 31 years later it’s still imprinted in my brain so I’m passing it along to you too 😂.

Wild Horse Monument

Another attraction when you’re headed toward the gorge is the Wild Horse Monument. It’s right off the highway where you can get an up close look at the horse sculptures along the hill with the beautiful backdrop of the gorge and the Columbia River.

Crescent Bar

Crescent Bar is another spot that’s become a bit of a party hub but it’s also a great place to just stop in for the day. It’s right on the water and the perfect place to go boating or enjoy the sun while you float in the water.

It’s such a beautiful area so definitely enjoy! Have other recs? Drop them in the comments below!

P.S. If you like keeping up with my PNW adventures, Evan and I started an Instagram account focused on just that! Follow along at @TheHicksintheSticks

If you’re looking for a fun weekend getaway in Washington boy do I have a fun weekend plan for you! We took a trip to the Methow Valley and I’m obsessed! Like I may be planning a yearly trip because I loved it out there so much.

I’d recommend taking a 3-day weekend if you can for this trip because it’s a bit of a drive at least if you’re coming from the west side (about 4.5 hours from Tacoma) but you can adjust your stops accordingly. We opted to go in a big ol’ counterclockwise loop for our trip taking I-90 and Highway 97 on the way there and then taking Highway 20 (North Cascades Highway) on the way back. Just be sure to check the routes for when you plan your trip because Highway 20 is closed in the winter. No matter which way you go though, it’s bound to be a great trip so let’s get down to where I rec stopping!

Leavenworth

Since it is a bit of a trek, we opted to stop in Leavenworth on the way over. Plus, it’s only about 20 mins off the original route so if you have some wiggle room on time it’s definitely worth a visit. I hadn’t visited since I was a kid and it’s just such a cute town to explore. It’s a top tourist destination year-round but it wasn’t too bad when we stopped midday on a Friday. If you’re not familiar, it’s a Bavarian-themed village in the North Cascades filled with German beer, food, and gift stores. It wasn’t always that way, but in the 60’s the leaders of the town decided to give the city a makeover to attract more tourists and boy did they ever! The downtown isn’t the only thing that’s picture-perfect either, the mountains in the background… holy ish, so gorg!

There are SO many different places to stop and check out. The downtown is a lot bigger than I thought so there’s definitely a lot to explore. We got a bite to eat at the Sausage Garten and I would go back for the sole reason of getting some more sausages. So. Dang. Good! Plus, I’m admittedly a condiment whore and then had like 20 different sauces to choose from, it was insane! The spot is right in the middle of downtown and you just order and then sit at one of the picnic tables available — so super casual dining. There were a lot of sit-down options as well but this was perfect for our timeline and by the time we got there we were so hungry!

After getting a bite, we wandered through a ton of the gift stores — which there were a lot of. All super cute! They ranged from clothing stores, touristy shops, to year-round Christmas and crystal/rock stores. There was a great variety and a little something for everyone. We also made a stop at the Hat Shop, which I remember was a favorite of mine as a kid.

After a little shopping, we closed out our visit at Icicle Brewing Company. I just loved the ambiance here. They had quite a bit of outdoor seating, complete with misters for those hot days (it was decently hot when we were there) and then they also had some indoor seating upstairs filled with games ,which is where we ended up.

After a few games of cribbage and brews it was time for us to hit the road again. As you continue to drive further the terrain continues to change and the houses start to get further and far between until you start passing orchards. One of my favorite things about Washington is how diverse the landscape across the state is.

Winthrop

After about a two hour drive, you’ll land in the wild, wild west…. Winthrop! Where my heart lives foreverrrr. 💖💖💖Guys, I love this little town so much. Similar to Leavenworth, it wasn’t always a western theme, but with the opening of the North Cascades Highway, the town followed Leavenworth’s lead and remodeled the downtown in the 70’s. Next to Twisp, Winthrop is one of the bigger towns you’ll find in the Methow Valley, which isn’t that big… with only about 500 full-time residents.

Winthop is much smaller than Leavenworth but there’s still plenty to do in the area. I was so captivated by this town too — especially all of its history. Even in modern-day, it kind of feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere so learning about the settlers that landed here in the 1800’s and started the town just blew my mind.

Definitely take the time to go up the hill from the main drag and check out the Shafer Museum. It’s free to go to (but they also accept donations) and you’ll get a really great look at what life was like there over the years.

Another popular destination and place to stay in Winthop is Sun Mountain Lodge. My family visited when I was a kid and we went horseback riding and it was one of my favorite memories everrrr. During our trip, we stayed downtown but we went up the hill to the lodge to relive my childhood memories and go horseback riding. They have a few different options, you can sign up to do a Cowboy Dinner where you’ll ride the horses out and then you have a BBQ dinner before riding back home or you can also just go riding. The dinners were already full on the day we wanted so we did an afternoon ride instead. Say heyyy to my horse Teddy!

Don’t mind Evan just looking like he’s a real-life cowboy too… haha. This was such a cool experience though! Having done both now, if you do the Cowboy dinners your path is relatively flat after you walk up from the stables. If you go on an afternoon ride though, you actually go up on the ridge which was insanely gorgeous. Both are really memorable options and the wranglers of the horses (I think that’s the right verbiage😜) were so kind and took such great care of the horses. 10/10 would do this again.

After we went riding we were ready to go back downtown to explore again. Like I said, I just LOVE this town and there are a lot of great places to visit, here were a few that made my favs though:

• Copper Glance: If you are looking for some BOMB food and cocktails in Winthrop, Copper Glance is your spot. We got into town a little later on Saturday so we were looking for a dinner and this was just what we were looking for. Their cocktail selection is really impressive and their menu stacked up with a lot of the restaurants I used to go to in New York — for real. They use local and organic ingredients and I just loved the creative options they had. The atmosphere and staff were just the best too.

• Methow Valley Cidehouse: After riding, we stopped by for some cider tastings (my fav!) and a snack. They had ribs on special which seemed necessary and they were so tasty! They have indoor and outdoor seating with a really relaxed atmosphere which was great. They also had a really diverse range of ciders too.

• Old Schoolhouse Brewery: Don’t be fooled by the outside of this place, it’s a lot bigger than it looks! Especially during the summer because they have a whole outdoor seating area in the back along the river. This was our round 2 of dinner and it was a great find. Specifically their totchos! Everything was really great and the views along the river were so pretty. We even saw a mama deer with a few of her babies walk by!

• Sheri’s Sweet Shoppe: If you visit Winthrop this is a right of passage! We closed out our evening with a game of put-put golf followed by some ice cream at the sweet shoppe, which was the perfect sweet treat.

North Cascades

After an amazing trip in Winthrop we started our journey back, this time going through the North Cascades. We had a hike planned so we got an early start around 7 a.m.. Usually, we make or pick up sandwiches along the way when we go hiking but weren’t quite sure what we were going to stumble upon since there’s not a ton on the way. We also wanted to refill on gas before heading into the mountains so we stopped in one of the last towns along the way to The Mazama Store.

From the outside, it looks like your standard old-school gas station but as I was waiting in the car I began to get curious because of how many people were going in. I figured it was likely because it was the only real store around (which is also true) but it turns out it’s more than that. Evan came out and told me I had to go in so I did and this little store had a little bit of everything! Color me impressed. They were just putting some sandwiches out so we picked a few up and then got suckered into getting a few muffins too because they had just come right out of the kitchen. Holy crap… if you’re in the area, make a stop at that store because the muffins and sandwiches were some of the best I’ve ever had. They grow their own produce right on site so everything was fresh and homemade. I’m still dreaming about my turkey sandwich with cranberry cream cheese too… So dang good and it was the perfect reward at the top of our hike.

After our stop we were back to being en route to our trail! If hiking is your thing you HAVE to add Maple Pass to your list. Hands down, this hike is going down as my favorite OF ALL TIME! It’s definitely a hike.. it’s almost 8 miles roundtrip with a 2.2k+ elevation gain, but dang is it worth it. This hike had views at pretty much every single step of the trail and truly it was just incredible. We saw views of some of the lakes, the cascades, wildflowers and even a few marmots! It was truly phenomenal. There are a ton of great options in the North Cascades but I definitely recommend this one. In the Fall they’re also known for their larches! Look them up, they look pretty cool. There’s also a decent-sized parking lot on-site and there aren’t any forest roads so it’s easy accessibility. Since it’s a loop, there are a lot of people who recommend hiking it clockwise because they say it’s a little easier. We actually intended to do that, but it turns out we went counter-clockwise but honestly, either way, would be just fine. The way we went may have been tougher but having the views the whole way was so worth it.

These photos don’t even do this hike justice.. it was THAT gorgeous! This was actually my first hike in the North Cascades too and I can’t wait to go back. Hiking in the Snoqualmie and Mt. Rainier areas have gotten so crazy during the summer since they’re so close to Seattle and this was a refreshing change. We definitely still saw people but with the early start, we were really able to just enjoy nature.

Even if hiking isn’t your thing, driving the North Cascades Highway is SO worth it. The views throughout were just amazing. Another stop I wanted to make on the way home which is right off the highway was to Diablo Lake. I’ve been mesmerized by photos online and couldn’t wait to see if the water was really that blue. Spoiler, it is! There’s a hike around here as well that we considered doing but the trail reviews were meh so we decided to skip it. Instead, we just joined the massed at the viewpoint.

Right after we left the viewpoint though, we saw that there was a beach right off the road so we decided to stop. During the summer, we pack around our inflatable kayaks justtt in case and we decided to make the impulsive decision to kayak on the inlet of the lake.

Which I’d say was the perfect way to close out our trip! If you’re looking for a getaway I cannot recommend this itinerary enough… even if you just went to one of these places! All are such a treat and we’re so lucky to live in a state with so much variety. If you have any questions or suggestions for other places we should check out, let me know in the comments or shoot me a message!

P.S. If you like keeping up with my PNW adventures, Evan and I started an Instagram account focused on just that! Follow along at @TheHicksintheSticks