Taking a drive anywhere in Kittitas County is sure to live up to expectations. Enjoy the leaves changing colors in the fall and the livestock grazing in the spring. In the summer, roll down that window and let the fresh rural air cool you off. Scenery can be spectacular in the winter too with the surrounding hills covered in snow.
scenic drives n YAKIMA RIVER CANYON
n LIONS ROCK
Drive the 22-mile Yakima River Canyon Highway (State Route 821) southeast of Ellensburg to Selah, and you might catch a glimpse of bighorn sheep, deer, or bald eagles. Any time of year, you’ll view stunning scenery and interesting geology. Turn around at Selah and come back through again and you’ll see things differently the other direction. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management offers recreation areas, restrooms, hiking trails, and campsites along the highway. The river offers worldclass fly fishing and is popular with floaters during the summer.
This scenic drive goes 23 miles from the Kittitas Valley floor up steep slopes north of Ellensburg to an elevation of 6,300 feet. Head north on Reecer Creek Road, and go past its end on gravel to Forest Service Road 35.
n VANTAGE HIGHWAY The old Vantage Highway from Ellensburg to Vantage travels through rolling farmland to a dramatic shrub steppe landscape. It travels past the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, which is open to the public, and ends near Ginkgo Petrified Forest Park at the Columbia River.
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CENTRAL WASHINGTON | VISITORS GUIDE
n ROSLYN TO SALMON LA SAC Drive along state Route 903 north of Roslyn for tremendous views of jagged Cascade peaks, the Cle Elum River and quiet mountain lakes. The paved route ends at Salmon la Sac, which has 67 camp sites and a free day-use picnic area nestled between the Cle Elum and Cooper rivers. The area is popular for camping, hiking, boating, cross-country skiing, berry picking, kayaking, picnicking, and more. The Gallagher trailhead near the Salmon la Sac area provides a popular motorized off-road vehicle area. Horses can be lodged in the corrals at the Forest Service’s Cayuse Horse Camp, near the Salmon la Sac guard station. The road is plowed all the way to Salmon la Sac in the winter.
