Stehekin is a small
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Chelan County, Washington
Chelan County (, ) is a List of counties in Washington, county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 79,074. The county seat and largest city is Wenatchee, Washi ...
. The name "Stehekin" comes from a word in the
Salishan language
The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised by ag ...
that means "the way through".
[ Stehekin has about 75 permanent residents,] although its population swells during the summer with vacationers and seasonal workers.
Sights and tourism
Stehekin is part of Wenatchee
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 was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...
–East Wenatchee
East Wenatchee is a city in Douglas County, Washington, Douglas County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census was 13,190, a 129.1% increase on the 2000 census, having annexed m ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
. Located at the northwest end of Lake Chelan
Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake was ...
, it lies just south of the North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...
. Stehekin is within Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is a national recreation area located about south of the Canada–US border in Chelan County, Washington. It encompasses an area of including the northern end of Lake Chelan and the surrounding area of the ...
, a unit administered by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
Sights in Stehekin include the Buckner Homestead Historic District, The Golden West Visitor Center, Stehekin Pastry Company, the one-room Stehekin School, the 312' Rainbow Falls, and Harlequin Bridge. Stehekin is visited by hikers and bikers in the summer, and snowshoers and skiers in the winter, as well as photographers year-round.
Transportation
There is no road access to Stehekin, although roughly of road exist there. It is reachable by passenger ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
(the ''Lady of the Lake''), by private boat from Chelan, by foot over Cascade Pass
Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit Passfloatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
, or by small aircraft via a turf airstrip open from June through September. The vehicles in Stehekin have been barged there on Lake Chelan.
In addition to access by Lake Chelan, visitors come to Stehekin by horseback, hiking, and flying into Stehekin State Airport (Identifier 6S9). The airport is only open July, August, and September, and is noted by the Washington State Department of Transportation as being one of the state's most challenging airports. While only msl, there are mountains on the sides and trees at each end of the runway. The airport is often a base for firefighting, at which times it is closed to public use. The Harlequin campground is located next to the airport. Trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
and sockeye salmon
The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...
are popular targets for fishing in Stehekin.
In 2003, much of the upper (northern) half of the Stehekin Valley Road was washed out by the nearby Stehekin River. Thus, access via Cascade Pass
Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit PassPacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
. The PCT could also be used to access Stehekin from the Suiattle River Valley. Additionally, a network of trails through the mountains east of Stehekin provide access by foot and motorcycle to the Methow Valley area. The Chelan Summit trail starts near the nexus of Grade Creek Road in Chelan and provides a continuous trail all the way into Stehekin. 7,000 feet below on the lake shore runs the Lake Shore Trail, which leads into Stehekin from Prince Creek. The Lady of the Lake ferry services this trail head.
Climate
Stehekin has a dry-summer continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
(Köppen ''Dsb'') with warm to hot summers and heavy winter snowfall. The precipitation pattern closely resembles a mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
and using the lower isotherm for the coldest month, Stehekin may be described as a highly unusual mediterranean climate. Winter temperatures are much colder than those encountered on the windward side of the Cascades, but are still moderate compared to areas further east. The overall temperature span has ranged from in summer to in winter.[ The coldest daily maximum measured was in December 1968.][ During the series of normals spanning from 1991 to 2020 the coldest annual maximum averaged a lot closer to the normals with .][ Summer nights can occasionally be very warm, with a record of from July 1907 and a three degrees Fahrenheit lower reading was measured in 2015.][ In a normal year, the warmest low is at .][
]
Telephone service
Between March 15 and 28 of 2007, WeavTel, a telecommunications company based in Chelan, at the head of the lake, began normal operations of standard-delivery residential and business telephone service. After having only been served only by highly expensive satellite and radio telephones, Stehekin joined the Washington Telephone Grid after decades of isolation. Although the move was not widely accepted amongst residents, business owners agreed that there is a benefit to having normal telephone service.
The service is currently limited to the Lower Stehekin Valley, around Stehekin Landing and the village proper, but WeavTel is applying for permits to extend the service into the Upper Valley using underground fiber-optic cables. The move was made possible under federal and state grants that provided support for any telecommunications company willing to extend service to rural areas. Although most other areas of North Central Washington have standard service, most of the areas outside of Wenatchee
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 was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...
benefit from the grants as well. One of the first phone calls, a test call, was placed from Stehekin's Silver Bay Resort.
See also
* Holden Village
References
External links
Lake Chelan Attractions - Frommers Guide
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)
Unincorporated communities in Chelan County, Washington
Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area