Step back into the Old West

You can almost feel like you are stepping back in time to the Old West when you visit Winthrop.

False fronts and wood paneling highlight the buildings downtown, giving them a late 1800s look.

The hillsides above the town in Central Washington's Methow Valley are even mostly barren with desert scrub brush straight out of a Western movie.

The only giveaways are that the streets are paved instead of dirt or gravel, and the wagons and horses have been replaced with automobiles that go by on Highway 20.

Of course the motif was designed to lure in North Cascades travelers and get them to stop and shop, or to stay and make the town a center of operations for outdoor adventures.

After all, Methow Trails maintains 120 miles of trails for cross country skiing in the winter or for hiking and mountain biking in the summer and early fall.

Most of the trails are snow free from early May through November, except for the higher elevation paths that are open from July through early October.

Heliskiing is also offered in the nearby mountains for the most adventurous.

Winthrop is only the permanent home of 340 people according to the 2020 census, but what the town lacks in size it makes up for in big events.

The biggest event of the slate is the July 15-17 Rhythm and Blues Festival that attracts musicians and visitors annually from all over the Northwest.

It is so big that onsite camping is allowed with portable showers provided for those unable to get standard accomodations in the area.

Winthrop also hosts tournaments during the winter on its outdoor National Hockey League-sized rink as well as up to eight teams for the Winthrop Snowshoe Softball Tournament taking place every President's Day weekend in February.

Scheduled for Nov. 25-26 of this year is the annual Christmas At The End of the Road celebration that also ranks among the bigger of many scheduled local events.

While much of the North Cascades Highway 20 to the west is closed for the winter and early spring, Winthrop and the Methow Valley can be approached from the east all year.

For more information on year round recreational opportunities, contact Methow Trails at (509) 996-3287.

How to get there:

From late spring through early fall the most direct route to Winthrop from Western Washington and Oregon is to head to Burlington on Interstate 5 and take the Highway 20 exit heading east.

A short cut from the south is to take the Highway 530 exit near Arlington and go northeast until the road joins Highway 20 in Rockport, where you take a right.

But the more scenic and year round route is from east to west on Highway 20.

You can get to it from Highway 2 (Stevens Pass for Western Washingtonians) from the west or east and turn north on Highway 97 or 97A, which reunite in Chelan and head further north.  Take a left on Highway 153 in Pateros and another left when you come to Highway 20 near Twisp.

Text and photos by Tim Clinton.