Hikers! Don't Miss Out on Northeast Washington

Shelly Steves from the Tri County Economic Development District joins Jennie and Craig to talk about remote Northeastern Washington and she and Craig discuss their favorite places to stay, campgrounds, hiking trails and places to eat after a hike.

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Transcript

 Welcome to the Washington State Hiking Podcast. I'm your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, and I'm your co-host Craig Romano. Craig and I are happy to have you here. We provide practical and timely seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners, and potential hikers and trail runners of all skill and ability levels that is helpful, accurate, fun, and inclusive. If you're the kind of hiker who likes a little elbow room, wonderfully wild northeast Washington might just be your kind of place. We're talking millions of acres of public lands to explore forests, peaks and hidden lakes where it's easy to find your own stretch of trail. It's a bit off the beaten path, but that's kind of the point. Spend the day hiking, then roll into a small town for a delicious and restorative burger and an ice cold beverage. Northeast Washington is the kind of place where adventure feels easy and crowds are hard to find. Start planning your visit today@www.wonderfullywild.com. I. Our guest today is Shelly Stevens. Shelly is from the Tri-County Economic Development District. And listeners, if you're like, "Where the heck is that? " Well, that is what we are gonna talk about today because we are talking about a really special part of Washington State, Northeast Washington, and it's not news for you listeners because you have heard Craig and I talk about how great this area is before, but today we're gonna dive a little bit deeper on that with Shelly. So, Shelly, welcome to the Washington State Hiking Podcast. Thank you for being here. Thank you. I'm super excited to talk about the awesomeness of Northeast Washington. Yes. We're excited to have you here, Shelly. Yes. Talk about how great it is hiking in that area. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Okay. So to start off, Shelly, can you tell us a little bit about your history with this area? How did you get there and how did you come into the work, uh, that you do? Yeah, sure. My family and I moved, uh, to the area about 20 years ago. And about 11 years ago, um, I started in this position here at, Tri-County Economic Development District, which we can just shorten to Ted, started at Ted, as the regional marketer. And I, I didn't come in with a huge background of outdoor rec experience and things, but part of my job, and frankly, the best part to me, um, is that I get to get out and go to every campground, as many trails as I can, every lake,, to get pictures to put on our social media and our websites and things. I just discovered just how much there is here and how amazing it was. It was so exciting. I, you know, go down some dirt road I'd never been down before and around the corners, something else super cool that I, that I wanted to check out. Let's see. So we live in Chihuila, which is in Stevens County and south of Colville where Ted World headquarters is. And we have some acreage and things, but we never got into camping or things like that because we kind of felt like we were camping just, just where we lived. But because I was out and seeing all these amazing campgrounds and areas that you could disperse camp and things,, we got a little pop-up trailer at some point and that was like our entry level to, to RVing and camping and just fell in love with it. And because my husband and I discovered that when we're at home, even though, yes, we have all this forest and acreage and it's beautiful, there's always something to do no matter, no matter what. There's no relaxing. But when we go camping, we were kind of forced into doing nothing and just, enjoying nature and just fell in love with that. And, uh, so now we have a bigger trailer and we camp about,, 60 plus days a year for sure. So that's how I- I love, I love that you're like, "Well, for my job, I had to go here and do this and then it was amazing and I fell in love with it. And then for my job, I had to go to this other place and do this other thing and I fell in love with it. I love that. It's awesome. Cool. All right. So Shelly, can you talk a little bit about just why Northeast Washington is so unique? And can you mention ... So we've talked about Tri-County, you mentioned Stevens County. Can you tell everybody what counties we're talking about and where they are? Yeah, absolutely. So we're talking about Ferry Stevens and Pend Orielle County. So the three counties in the very northeast corner of the state. So to the west would be the Okanogan Highlands, to the east would be the Silkirk Mountain Range, which is kind of the foothills of the Rockies. And then in the middle-ish is the, the kettle range that I know Craig is particularly fond of. Um, and so we have some things going for us in that we are so remote and we are so rural that if you take the square miles of these three counties, there's only about 12 people per square mile. Um, we, we are not crowded. For the most part, if you're in our neck of the woods, it's because you came here. You want to be here. It's not a pass through kind of location. We have,, Canada to the north, of course, Idaho to the east. Um, and we have , a genuine four season climate. We have a, a, a proper spring a proper hot and dry summer, a beautiful cool crisp fall with amazing colors because of all of the, tamaracks, and then a good snowy winter, unless you count this past winter, which we won't. So we have those winter sport opportunities and then all of the outdoor rec thing, anything you can think of, um, for the most part. And fun fact, there are more wild turkeys in Northeast Washington than all other Washington counties combined. So if you love a Turkey- You haven't driven on I- That is a fun fact. We haven't driven on I- 5. I see turkeys all the time out there, but, uh- Craig. Uh, but yes, I, I agree. Tur- the turkeys, and, you know, in Republic, which, which is my favorite town in, in the area, uh, on the courthouse, the turkeys are usually there on the courthouse, lawns, with the deer on opening day. Everybody knows on opening day of hunting season, the deer are on the co- the county, uh, courthouse lawn, it's like, you can't touch us. So ... Yeah, it's true. They're either there or they're all in my yard for the most part. Nice. Yeah. So I'd love to know, Shelly, , of course we're talking about hiking, but we're also talking about this area, which people who live along the I- 5 corridor, which is not all of our listeners, but it is a lot of them. And by the way, listeners, one of the few things that we know about you, unless you tell us is, , where you are. Not, not Big Brother where you are, like, where your house is. But our host, , tells us, like, where people are pinging in from, in a general sense, like, Seattle or Spokane. It doesn't say, "You're right here." It's not like that. Anyway, so we know that most people who listen are not from or super close to you this part of the state. So can you tell us a little bit too about, like, what the economy is based on? There's not a lot of people living there, but those who are, what kinds of things are they doing? Yeah. So like many rural areas in the state, historically, um, we had with, there was timber, mining, ranching, and, and, and some of that still happens today where, I mean, we're still, um, uh, a big timber producer. As a matter of fact, one of our, our local mills has really created this cool, um, business model where they use, uh, small diameter timber. So they go, can go in and, and take out this, this, um, fuel, if you will, in the forest and turn it into a marketable product while, um, increasing the health of the forest. It, it's a really great model that is catching on in other parts of the country. So that's- That's the Wagon Brothers, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, amazing, uh, organization. I've had, uh, the opportunity to, to interview them when I was working on a project up there, and you're right, they're innovative and, and, and, and really committed to the community. Yeah. Yeah. It's really cool to see. And, and like I said, they're like a model for other Well, the Colville National Forest, who they do a lot of work on that forest, , is regarded as one of the best managed forests in the whole country for forest management practices. So that is still definitely, um, an ongoing industry. There's still, hay farms are, are still a, important part. We have a lot of small manufacturers, more entrepreneurial, type businesses, very few kind of chain businesses in the whole region. It's a lot of self-starting entrepreneurial type folks. And of course, some of our communities are really looking at outdoor recreation to help diversify their economy. Yeah. Republic is also, a stop for people bicycling across State Route 22. It's a public spot. , And listeners, if you've never been to Republic, I fell in love. I, I think 1995 was one of the first time I went over there and I've written so much about, about this area. My, Columbia Highlands book, which came out years ago with the one I won, state awards for and everything, capturing the essence of the area, I mean, it is amazing. There's what, not even a traffic light in the entire county., The people there, are amazing. Stories they tell, and I've had the, opportunity to interview many of them, to where I got married. , I love that area, so much. Um, the hiking there is incredible, and we're gonna talk about that because, you're gonna get an experience that you're not gonna get in most of Western Washington as far as, um, the solitude and the wildlife and just the, the wide openness, it's, it's an incredible area, you know? Yeah. I think a lot of people, when they, if they haven't been here, they think Washington all looks like the Olympic Peninsula or, you know, they're thinking green, maybe they're thinking crowded trailheads and, and things like that. And here, our landscape is very different. We're not Central Washington with, um, those scrub lands and things. We have forests and rivers and meadows and fields , and no crowds because, like I said earlier, it's, you, you have to want to be here to get here and enjoy it. So that's a big positive too. Yeah. It feels a lot like Montana in many ways. If you've only driven across the state on I- 90, you're gonna be blown away because it's mountainous, it's forested, there are lakes, like you mentioned, and, , the wildlife, um, truly a special place, truly a special part of our state. Yeah. I would agree and I'm not biased. No. Yeah, it, it really is. I had a job,, I think I've talked about this before, in the late, the mid to late '90s where I went to every county in Washington and did, it was for a school program. And one of the things I loved about that was really getting to know our,, entire state, not just, like And, this area is one of ... Metaline Falls in particular is, um, one of my favorite places that I ever went with that job in three years in all 59 Washington counties. 39. 30- 39. Added 20. We, do we annex Idaho? We're not quite Iowa yet. No, they have 99. Anyway, cool. Okay. So we'll talk about a few, like, specific hikes here in a minute. But before that, Shelly, since, you know, most people visiting, as you said, are gonna be coming from a distance. They're gonna need places to stay and places to get food, and there are not a ton of towns, and they're small. So what advice do you have for,, visitors about finding a place to stay? What are some of the options? And,, I'd also love, since you're a camper, to hear a little bit about camping as well, So I'll start with camping. So we have actually any, just about any type of lodging experience you're looking for, like, maybe not the super high end. There's no five diamond re- resorts here in North Carolina. No Ritz-Carlton. No. Okay. But we- Just checking. We do have one and a half million acres of Colville National Forest and other public lands, a lot of state land, DNR, some BLM. So if you're into dispersed camping, overlanding, we got you there. And there's many, primitive campgrounds on the National Forest and DNR campgrounds. And then there's a whole bunch of really great,, RV p- parks, privately owned, RV parks with full hookups. So you've got that and that also offer maybe some glamping type opportunities, if that's what you're looking for. We have several very popular, guest ranches. , K Diamond K and Bull Hill are two examples. And then we have many kind of mom and pop motels, boutique hotels. , Pr- our largest hotel is fairly new, and that is the Mysticua Hotel, which is, operated by the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and they're ju- it's just south of Chihuelah. So it's pretty central actually in, in the region, and a really nice, , hotel. So w- and then lots of short-term rentals. We have no short-term rental regulation here. It's not a problem yet anyways. So there are lots of, , opportunities there for the short-term rentals. Cool. So let's talk about some trails and we'll come back and talk about food. I would love to have both of you share some of your favorite spots in this area for hikes. I love the Hoodoo Canyon Trail, um, which is in Ferr- Ferry County, and, , it runs kind of through this great glacial canyon through several lakes, , Emerald Lake and Trout Lake. And, when wildfire season ... ... spectacular through there. I love that one. Shelly, what, what are the best months for wildflowers in the Tri-County area? It kinda depends because we have such varying elevation opportunities, you know, as we go farther into the season, you can go up on Abercrombie in July, and it's still gonna, it's gonna feel like early spring up there. Between April, all the way through, if you get up higher, you're going to find wildflowers and of course huckleberries. So , like, April, maybe into May for, like, Balsamout and then more Alpine, more June, July. Yeah. And a, and if we'd had a normal winter, typically at some of the higher elevations, you're still gonna have snow on Sherman Pass, um, and, up on Sherman Peak, you know, sometimes into July, , Abercrombie, late like that, and then over in Ponderay of, Gypsy Peak, those areas would still have snow into summer. I don't know what that's gonna be like this year, but, we have all these options, uh, for hiking from low elevation all the way up. So you can ... There's something for every season. Yeah. What you talked about earlier, Shelly, you know, I grew up in the Northeast, and what you're saying too, that North Northeast of the United States, and in the northeast of Washington, you have distinct seasons, because here on, the west side, it's, it's a little bit more muddled in our seasons. There's a wet season and a dry season, but, one of the things I love, in Northeast Washington, it's, it's a, continental climate, not a coastal climate, so you're gonna have cold winters, um, you know, uh, real falls, real springs, really distinct. Because there's more deciduous trees growing in, in that part of the state than over here too, you're gonna have the color. And, and particularly, I love this birch forest over these birch trees, uh, the Cottonwoods, the Aspens, uh, really add, , some beautiful color., Got it. I'll add that, a cool thing is that even in the middle of the hottest summer, you can still go up on some of these higher elevation trails and it will just be beautiful and comfortable. Like Wapelloosi is another great one for wildflowers into the summer., I love the Columbia Mountain Loop, um, that's kind of in the same neck of the woods and it's just kind of cool because you get up to the location of a, of an old lookout and a kind of restored, structure and beautiful views, just spectacular views. Another fave, and this one is cool all year,, is Elk Creek Falls over in Pend Orielle County. It's near, the Sullivan Lake area, and it's not a long trail. It's only about two and a half miles. But in that two and a half miles, um, you see some beautiful forest, you get to a beautiful waterfall, you go over a little bridge right there. There's some really cool geology along the way. And then you break out up high with meadows and wildflowers and a view of Sullivan Creek running through the valley. So that's, a really great one because especially for folks that maybe haven't done a lot of hiking. It, it is a little bit of an elevation game, but not crazy and it's not too long. So it, it's a very rewarding trail. We should also note too, it is accessible by a paved road. And it's close to a lot of campgrounds. This is in the Sullivan Lake area. So like my two favorite places out there, camp or to, to stay in a lodge and to hike is the Republic area and the Kettle River range, and then , the Sullivan Lake area over here. And in, in between those two areas, you are gonna have, you know, months of exploration to do. Yeah. The, uh, the Mill Pond Campground, which is a national forest campground right there was redone in the last few years. And, Sullivan Creek runs right in front of it, so that's a, a really nice one. And then if you're a little more into the dispersed, if you go out Sullivan Road, there's a whole series of dispersed camping sites, um, along the creek that are fair, rustic, but, um, identified campsites that is great to camp on there. And then in Chihuelah. It's the Courtside Mountain Trail, very short, but very up, um, although I just found out this week that they are retreading that whole trail to make it a little more accessible and it's gonna open up some views, but right now, it's just about a mile and a half up, when you get to the top, you're on the top of Quartzite Mountain is a huge view of the Chihuelah Valley, the town of Chihuelah, both to the south, , the west, the north, , just spectacular. And it's another one, I wouldn't wanna take a little kids up there because there's, it's some pretty good drop offs, but the reward after that kind of bun burner is, , it's worth it. And it, and I'm really excited, , with the folks from the National Forest are working on rerouting that trail o- and also increasing the parking area. So if you've been there, , parking area, we'll use the term loosely. It's kind of a pull off and sometimes it's hard for folks to even locate the trail head. So that's gonna get a upgrade. So that is super cool. The other place I wanted to mention, because I think it's super accessible and, , stunning is the relatively new, , Pee Wee Falls scenic overlook. , If you're over in that Sullivan Lake area, don't skip going on up to Metalene Falls and over to the lookout. It used to be the only way to see the falls, and this is a two- 200 plus foot cascade into the Pondare River, , the only way to see it was from the water. You'd either kayak out from the campground at, , Boundary Dam, which is very cool, by the way, and free, or you'd boat up Z Canyon up the river to see the falls. But now, on the east side of the falls on National Forest Land, they've added a parking area with picnic area and vault toilets and a trail down to a really beautiful platform directly looking west at these, , amazing cascading falls. So now everybody can see it. It's, it's an ADA path down to there and it's really a cool thing. And you know, Shelly, we are so excited. We have Holly Wilder coming , on the program, next to talk about, hiking, some of our best trails in Eastern Washington, and she's my new co-author in Day Hiking Eastern Washington. We're redoing that book. , We're excited about the new edition, and we are so excited about this trail that, you have alerted to us. So, listeners you're getting a scoop here about a brand new trail to check out. We can't wait to go check this thing out. That's very close to Sullivan Lake, the Meadowlene Falls, uh, uh, truly spectacular area out there. So I, I'm so glad to hear, , that new trails are being built. And, and I should mention too, we were talking about that Sullivan Creek Road and it's a long forest road to go to some incredible hikes. Every time I've driven it, the road is kept in pretty decent shape. I mean, I've, I've gotten, sedans up that and everything. So again, the accessibility in this area is really good too, because over on the western side of the state, we've lost so much access with washouts and roads being unmaintained. You definitely have much better access to a lot of these trails on the east side. , The Salmo Passage Trail, which is,, the trail that The northern trailhead is at the Peewee Fall Scenic Overlook. And then it's nine miles south along the Ponderre River, , to the Riverside Canyon Scenic Overlook. So there's another spectacular overlook. And I've heard that this trail is, will be, e-bikes will be allowed on this. So it's like the perfect e-bike, and then- That sounds fun. Yeah. Sounds like a good running trail too. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Yeah. Yeah. So. Yeah, yeah. So Shelly and Craig, Craig, I know you tend to, like, blow by towns with a granola bar, but I would love to know what some of your favorite places are to get, to get food or to just enjoy, like, a post-hike beverage or meal. And maybe also, Shelly, just where are their grocery stores, I know Colville has grocery stores. Um, yeah. So let's talk about food. Interesting's in Republic. I know it well. I've, I've, I've been in many, many times. Oh, yeah. I've been in there too. Actually, that's a great grocery store for,, especially for a really small town. Yeah. And also there in Republic, there's the Co-op- Co-op, yes. ... which also, and they have, wraps and sandwiches, but they also have, groceries. And then there's in, yeah, in Colville, there's several grocery stores. Chewelah, there's a Safeway, Newport over in Ponderre, there's a Safeway. And then in,, Metaline, there's, there's a market there. So you'll find, you'll find your groceries.. I will tell you one place that, it's not really so much a food place, but I really enjoy, um, Republic Brewing, and it's, like, small, you know, it's on the main street. It's a historic building. Old firehouse, yeah. Yeah, old firehouse. I know this is becoming more common, but I always want to, like, call it out here that it's not only beer. Like, they also have soda, like, you know, interesting sodas, not just, like, Coke. So I wanted to mention that as, like, one of my favorite spots. Is there anywhere else for either of you that jumps out like that for just chilling out after a hike? , E- Esther's in, um, in Republic, , if you're really hungry after doing a, like a 50K on the kettle, kettle crest, that place hits the spot we can. For example, if you were to do that, right? Yeah. But even if you didn't do a 50K on the Kettle Crest, if you just did a 5K, it's a great place. Um, you, you will be well fed there. So, yeah. I love the, uh, the Cobb salad at the Naughty Pine in Republic. I, I've been there too, then I find, yes. Yes. I can't get anything else when I go there because that Cobb salad is amazing. Nice. All the time. And, Jennie were saying at Republic Bring, they do their own housemaid sodas and, things too. And they're very family friendly. And in the summer, they have, um, music out in the street , and yeah, it's just a whole scene there. Super popular. And, and we do have other breweries in the region. In Colville, there's the poor house, there's Fired Up Brewing, , and then down in Chihuila, a real popular one, , for mountain bikers is, , the Quartzite Brewing Company in Chuela. And then there's also another fired up brewing there. So I don't think there's any breweries in Ponderre that's popping into my head. But there's some great ... There's a place in us called Melanie's Bakery and Cafe that is very popular. Everything's homemade. And also in Newport is my sidewalk cafe, another, another great place and for coffee and things. We have coffee everywhere, so you don't need to worry about that. We got you covered. Lots of drive-through, great. We have local coffee roasters and kettle falls. You'll find Crandall's. Coffee, actually, Crandall's has, a place in Colville too, I believe. There is lots of great food. Chuila, another fave for the outdoor folks is, um, Sporties, the Sportsman Bar and Grill right on Main Street. Great food. And I will tell you that Jesse, the chef owner, he is a trained chef. He worked in fancy places in Hawaii for many, many years. And on Friday and Saturday, he, his specials will rival anything from the fanciest restaurants anywhere. They're just beautiful and, delicious. So we have a little bit- That's awesome. Little bit of everything. Oh, and I should say up in Metalene Falls, the Farmhouse Cafe, excellent breakfasts and baked goods and everything., And then seasonally, they have a really cute ice cream shop called The Last Stop Ice Cream Shop. . So there's a lot of great op- options for food here. Love that. I was gonna mention just a couple of my favorite campgrounds there, because , there's some nice places, but because it's so rural and, um, you might have to travel large distances, it's really nice , to set up camp someplace, a lot of close trails. If I'm not staying at the Northern Inn in Republic, which is a great place, um, Curlew Lake State Park is, is a way ... And that's actually where I got married. , The place is very special to me. I, I took my wife. It was the very first place I, I ever took camping. , We got married in our, in our campsite there. It's a great little state park, just about seven miles outside of Republic. Nice big Ponderosa Pines on the lake and paddleboarding there swimming and everything that ... And it's so close to so many of the trails,, off the Kettlecrest. So wonderful there. It's also close to the, to the,, Ferry County rail trail. So if you bring your bicycle or, or again, for running, and just walked, great g- great place. And then the other area, Sullivan Lake. It's a national forest. There's a couple of campgrounds on there. It's, , three campgrounds, a developed campground. Then Shelly, you mentioned that there's dispersed camping too, but there's three campgrounds right on the lake, and then there's several other developed camp. They're all really, really nice, great access, again, to all your hiking, of, often the Samopriest Wilderness in Crowell Ridge, Abercrombie area, which is, uh, out, outside of Ponderay as well. , And the weather shows you great in the summertime. It's warm during the day, cools off at night, but those lakes warm up so you can go down and take a swim a- you know, after, after hiking all day,, just real special places. And then in the o- in the, in the fall, uh, Sullivan Lake, the loons are out there. You're gonna hear loons,, so it's wonderful. And a lot of lakes in Northeast Washington. , The Loon, Loons are, , south of, Republic, Swan Lake, uh, another great place., Just outside the city, it's up higher. So a lot of people go there when it's warm, it's all forested, set up camp, the lake, all these great, little places you can set up for a night or a week and just base, you know, a base camp out of and explore the region. Yeah, I had an, I, I wanted to mention the loons, Craig. I love a loon and, ... Our loon population is, is at the most maybe 50 pairs of loons in the whole state. They think it's closer to 22 pairs, and m- most of them are in northeast Washington. Yeah. Yep. So we have many lakes, a lot of those on the National Forest where if you haven't heard a loon or been camping, there's just nothing like camping on a lake and sunset and hearing, um, the loons, it's, just haunting, and beautiful. Yeah. , it's part of what, what drew me, you know, I grew up in New England and same thing to me, Lake, the loons. , And when I first came out to Western Washington, these lakes are quiet. And then going out into the northeast corner of the state, it's like, oh my God, there's loons out here again. And hearing that, that beautiful cry, that call in the middle of the night, and especially if you've never experienced it, you've heard it on Hollywood tracks, they use it for lakes that don't have loons, but to hear the authentic, head out to Northeastern Washington and spend a night on one of these lakes, it is just haunting, hauntingly beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. But s- but stay away from them. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Don't, don't boat anywhere now. Yes. Yes, absolutely. So use lead waits on your fishing lures or- Yeah. Yeah. They are protected and, , my husband and I are kayakers too when we're kayaking. This is another one of our favorite things to do is just paddle out on these beautiful quiet lakes and just sit there and look for the loons or, or whatever other wildlife beaver and other critters out there. There's so many lakes to, paddle border kayak on also. And Shelly, she also mentioned too, again, going with my northeast theme, which makes me feel comfortable northeastern Washington, moose. The northeastern corner of the state has a lot of moose you will see moose out there, all these lakes and areas. So again, you wanna see our largest member of the deer population head out to that part of the state now. If people are interested in learning more about the trails that we have here, we, we have a website, Northeast Washington Trails. , It's newashingtontrails.com. You can also see a lot of that content on our Northeast Washington Trails Facebook page and also, visit Northeast Washington social media Facebook page and our wonderfullywild.com website. , If someone is coming over to this neck of the woods and they're not sure where to go, I am happy to chat and they can tell me what they're looking for, what kind of trail or what kind of campground, and I'm more than happy to point them in the right direction. So they can talk to an actual person- Yes. ... who lives there about why it's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Dreamy. Yeah. You will, by default, be disconnected, so unless you're bringing to Starlink. Yes. Yes. Which is great. That is great. It's a real gift, for sure. Well, Shelly, thank you so much for being here and sharing all these treasures about Northeastern Washington with us. Yeah, my pleasure. Thank you guys craig and I would love to thank wonderfully wild northeast Washington for being our sponsor for the month of June. Thank you so much. And listeners, thank you for listening. You can really help us out by leaving a rating. Or a review wherever you're listening to the pod. I know you hear this with every podcast you listen to, but the reason is it really makes a difference in helping other people find us. And the more people who find us, the more we are able to keep bringing you more episodes and get support like from our wonderful sponsors. So thank you so much for taking a moment to do that, and we'll see you next week.