Welcome to Lake Chelan

The Best Western Lakeside Lodge & Suites is within walking distance of Lake Chelan. The lake, nestled in Chlean Valley in central Washington State, is also in the North Cascades National Forest. Our Lake Chelan Resorts makes the area a great place for family vacations, weddings, social gathers and business meetings. With the communities of Chelan, Manson & Stehekin all in the valley there is a range of activities for just about everyone.  

Chelan is just a few short hours from Seattle Washington or a couple hours from Spokane. In Either direction vacationers around the Pacific Northwest come to Lake Chelan any time of year for fun and relaxation.

The Chelan Valley provides some amazing hiking opportunities up in the mountains surrounding the lake. Residents and visitors alike enjoy fishing in Lake Chelan, boating around the area or taking a tour up to Stehekin for the day. Whether you are here for a weekend or longer, Chelan offers a variety of activities, events, local markets, award winning wineries and dining establishments and beautiful resorts.

Lake Chelan is a 50.5 mile glacier-fed lake is 1.5 miles at its widest and 1486 ft. at its deepest point. The population of the valley consists of 10,000 year-round residents and several hundred more part-time residents. The name Chelan comes from the Indian word “Salish” which means “deep water”. Starting deep in the Cascade Mountains, streams feed Lake Chelan year round. Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the country and the 24th deepest lake in the world.

Our town of Chelan sits at the southernmost tip of the lake where the water flows into the Chelan River. At the north point of the lake, the Stehikin River ends its flow into Lake Chelan. Stehekin is only accessible by float plane, boat or ferry, horseback riding or hiking over the Cascades Pass yet provides a wonderful and quiet area for camping, dining, fishing and relaxing. There are roads in Stehekin but the cars and vehicles there have been barged in for the residents that live there. Stehekin has only about 75 permanent residents but sees an influx of tourists during the summer months.

Lake Chelan is a wonderful location whether you are enjoying us for the night, the weekend or the entire summer. Whatever your fancy Chelan is a beautiful place to vacation and relax in summer or even in the winter. Come enjoy our lake, our wineries, our fine dining and much more.

Lake Chelan Winter Events

If you think a Washington Winter is nothing but rain and fog, you haven’t heard about Lake Chelan.  Every year, locals enjoy 300 days of sunshine and once the snow falls, Lake Chelan turns into a winter wonderland.  Blue skies, evergreen trees and a spectacular lake view await you. Read More