We just returned from a wonderful little three-day adventure East of the Cascades with some friends. Because it was such a great trip for little ones, I thought I’d share our itinerary. If you only have a few days and want to get away in your tent/camper (especially in the shoulder season), take notes!
We started by heading East on Highway 2 with Leavenworth as our first stop (for some ice cream, of course). Parking was a bit of a challenge so we headed down to Waterfront Park and walked up the hill to town. The park has an awesome playground with views of the mountains, and if you follow the trail to the left out of the parking lot, you’ll find a lovely sandy beach down by the river that’s ideal for building sand castles, having a picnic, and letting the dogs run around off leash. In other words, a perfect rest stop!
Next, we headed to our planned camping destination for the first night: Jameson Lake, nestled in the heart the dramatic Moses Coulee. The lake lies six miles north of Highway 2 up the Jameson Lake Road, and the views are simply stunning. Notice the extensive basalt columns visible in the cliffs to the East, created by cooling lava flows which form cracks that separate the rock into polygonal shapes when it contracts.
Unfortunately, the road beyond Jack’s Resort (an un-imposing private campground located on the south end of the lake) was closed for some reason, so we were unable to make it to our intended campsite along the lake. Apparently, there’s a public toilet and gravel parking area where camping is allowed a few miles north of the resort. Maybe next time! Instead, we headed east on a gravel road (across a cattle grate, just south of the resort) that wound its way through BLM land above the lake. Although we never had any further views of the water, we found at least two incredible, wide open campsites less than a mile up the road.
At first, we drove past the sites and tried to follow the road until, according to our maps, it eventually wound back down towards the lake. However, the road was pretty rough and we eventually turned around, set up camp, and enjoyed dinner as the hillsides turned orange in the alpenglow. It’s pretty unusual these days to find a campsite with 360 degree wilderness views–not another human or man-made structure in sight!
Our next stop was the visitor’s center at Dry Falls State Park. This cool little museum is free to the public and provides a great description of the site’s geological history. The area, which was carved by the ice age floods more than 13,000 years ago, features a 400-foot cliff that was once a tremendous waterfall. The visitor center also has nice bathrooms and a water bottle station, making it a great stopping point along the way. There’s also a large campground and golf course just two miles down the road, located on the shore of Sun Lakes. We stopped by the campground to let the kids play at the playground for a bit before heading to our next destination: Lenore Lake Caves.
The Lenore Lake Caves are perfect for little kids to explore. The trail is short (1.5 miles, roundtrip), but it’s also adventurous–carved into the cliffside, with sweeping views of the valley below.
It’s less than half of a mile to the first cave, but don’t stop there! The trail continues, winding along the cliffside.
We didn’t make it all of the way to the end, but stopped after for our five caves. There are seven in all, each one a little different. None of them are very deep, but they’re still great fun to explore.
After leaving the caves, we headed towards Frenchman Coulee, where we had planned to spend the second night. It’s another free, dispersed camping area with toilets nearby and very cool rock formations. When we arrived, however, we found that it was quite crowded–it’s a popular rock climbing destination and I guess this was a good weekend for it. So instead, we drove about 30 minutes back towards Ancient Lakes, another well-loved outdoor recreation area with lots of campsites and trails for backpackers to explore.
We had no problem finding a camping spot along Quincy Lake, although it was nowhere near as secluded as our first night, and there was quite a bit of broken glass left behind from other campers. It was also extremely windy when we first arrived, and we were unable to setup our awning tent. Still, we had a good time. The kids enjoyed scrambling up the rocky hillside above our campsite to collect some balsam root flowers.
We had originally planned to head home over I-90, but decided to head back to Leavenworth to try out the Alpine Coaster at the Leavenworth Adventure Park (we weren’t able to go on our way through the first time because we hadn’t made reservations). Although it can be a long wait on the weekends, the kids agreed it was worth it.
Overall, this was an awesome weekend roadtrip. The driving distances were short, the weather was mild (springtime East of the Cascades is lovely), and the dramatic change in landscape makes you feel like you’re a million miles away. A great little escape for the whole family.
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