Cascade Golfer Wine Trail

Bear Mountain Ranch, Chelan

The youngest of Washington’s three major wine regions is also our favorite. Much of that is due to Lake Chelan itself, a pristine sliver of clear-blue water extending more than 55 miles to the northwest. On the ferry ride to Stehekin, at Lake Chelan’s northern terminus, you can learn about the history and geology of the lake — how it’s one of the deepest in North America, deep enough to drop the entire Space Needle into, and how the glacier that formed it also left behind the perfect soil for growing the grapes that now rival the lake for our tourism dollars.

But, it’s not just the lake that puts Chelan atop the list for us. It’s also the golf courses. Three of our favorite courses in the state — Gamble Sands, Bear Mountain Ranch and Desert Canyon — are no more than 35 minutes from town, while the municipally owned Lake Chelan Golf Course is absolutely worth the $50 you’ll pay to play there in the summer, if not just for the views alone.

And of course, there are the wineries — dozens of them cover the northern and southern slopes of the lake, vineyards extending from the lake’s edge up to hilltop tasting rooms with incredible, panoramic views. Furthermore, the region has yet to shed its “upstart,“ entrepreneurial feel, meaning the folks behind the counter in the tasting rooms are just as likely to be the winemakers themselves as they are to be a paid employee. They’ll tell you about their pasts as teachers, salespeople or computer programmers, and the moment they decided to cash in all of their savings to chase their dream. If you’ve ever sipped a great wine and wondered about changing careers, you’ll feel that tickle of inspiration, that thought that wonders, “Could I?“ (Though, if you find yourself charting out on a paper napkin just what it would take, it might be time to stop tasting for the day.)

We like to do Chelan as a three-day weekend, driving up on Friday morning and returning late Sunday. Just three hours from the Seattle area up Highway 2 (or via Blewett Pass off of I-90), it’s close enough that you can play your way in on Friday; we generally stop first at Desert Canyon in Orondo, a little more than halfway up the east side of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Chelan.

A round at Desert Canyon gives you the chance to adjust your game to conditions — quite simply, balls fly farther in the warm, dry Central Washington air, aided further by the nearly 2,000 feet of elevation. Nobody ever complained about an extra 15-20 yards on their drives; after soaking in the sun at Desert Canyon, you won’t be complaining
either.

Nefarious Cellars
Chelan’s Nefarious Cellars

If your budget is tighter, continue up the highway to Lake Chelan Golf Course. Shorter (6,400 yards from the tips) and less penal than some of the bigger-name courses in the region, Lake Chelan draws thousands of golfers each year of all abilities, eager to soak in the views without soaking their wallets. Like many courses built in the ’60s and ’70s, Lake Chelan has small greens, many elevated above the fairway in ways that make club selection on approach shots key. Trees and bunkers, while present, aren’t copious enough to restrict an average golfer from achieving a good score even with a little wildness, while the only real water hazard is more a distraction — in the form of the beautiful blue Lake Chelan stretching out as far as the eye can see to the west — than a threat.

Playing a late-morning round at Desert Canyon or Lake Chelan leaves you a few hours to taste wine that afternoon — or to take the kids to Slidewaters, the state’s best water park, practically hidden among low trees and sloping hills on the lake’s south side. Logistically, it’s easier to taste on one side of the lake per day — we generally do the north side Friday (since it’s closer to Lake Chelan G.C.) and the south side (home to Bear Mountain Ranch) Saturday, but you can taste in whatever order you please. North side favorites include Benson Vineyards (whose reds are matched in wonder only by the view from the tasting room), Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards (where wines — “Burning Desire,“ “Nauti Buoy,“ “Afternoon Delight,“ etc. — take their names from legends about a nearby early 20th-century brothel) and Wapato Point Cellars.

For our second day, we drive around to the south side of the lake and tee it up early at Bear Mountain Ranch. With its location atop a hill overlooking the lake, town and acres of wine grapes below, it’s unquestionably one of Washington’s most photogenic courses. Just below BMR’s fairways is the red-barn tasting room of Nefarious Cellars, long a CG favorite for its incredible Cabs and Syrahs. We also favor Tunnel Hill Winery (one of just a handful of Pinot Noirs that we prefer to those from Oregon’s Willamette Valley), Karma Vineyards and Tsillan Cellars, the latter’s Sorrento’s Ristorante being an ideal place for a post-round lunch.

Gamble Sands, Brewster

Sunday is getaway day — but we’re not about to get away without a stop at Washington’s best new course, and the newly christened king of Washington public golf, Gamble Sands. You can read more about Gamble in our top-10 article — just know that it’s one of the most creatively designed, most beautiful and most enjoyable courses you’ll ever play, anywhere. Should you decide you don’t want to leave, the all-new on-site Inn at Gamble Sands will take care of you overnight. On this trip, at least, we do have to head back — though not before stopping at Rio Vista Wines, just off Highway 97 north of Chelan, for one last taste of the good stuff.

If you don’t want to make the drive to Gamble Sands, or are simply looking for something at a lower price point, Highlander Golf Course in East Wenatchee, or Leavenworth’s Kahler Glen or Leavenworth Golf Course both make fine stops on your way out of town.

Highlander has been reimagined in recent years with all-new bunkers, re-conditioned turf, thousands of new trees, all-new water features, and a complete redesign of the course’s back nine. Always a sucker for a pretty view, our favorite holes are two that play across gaping canyons on the ridge’s edge — the par-3 ninth and the short, par-4 17th. The former is one of the most intimidating tee shots in Washington, while the latter is a fantastic, risk-reward delight. Rates top out at just $60 including cart, making it a great choice for budget-conscious golfers, or anyone who likes putting a few circles on the scorecard — in other words, all of us.

Leavenworth, too, has mesmerizing views, though of the exact opposite kind as Highlander’s — whereas the latter casts the eye out and down, over the expansive river valley below, the former casts the eye up, to the jagged peaks that enclose Washingtonians’ favorite mountain retreat. In addition to a lower greens fee (under $50, even at peak times) and mountain setting, Leavenworth also presents a contrast to the other Chelan-area courses with its shorter length, which makes it a great heading-home choice for groups with players of mixed abilities.

And if you just haven’t tasted enough wine, you can always stop in at the many tasting rooms downtown — Boudreaux, Kestrel, Ryan Patrick, and Swakane are all great choices, and if you missed them in Chelan, Hard Row To Hoe’s Leavenworth tasting room will be happy to warm your belly before you hit the road.

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