LOCATION - Wenatchee WA is
located right in the center of the state of Washington, half way between Seattle
and Spokane, at the foot of the Cascade Mountains and the banks of the Columbia
River.
Wenatchee area has a
population of some 80 thousand people.
Pangborn Air Field services
Wenatchee with 10 flights daily from Seattle and 1 from Spokane.
Wenatchee, which sits at
640 ft. above sea level, is basically an agriculture area with a strong
recreational attractions and rapidly becoming a popular retirement location, as
well as high volume of tourism. The
wine industry is skyrocketing.
Riverfront Park is one of
the many wonderful parks in Wenatchee.
This one is spectacular with its 15 miles of paved pathway and grassy
areas running in a loop on both sides of the Columbia River. The park runs by
the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers and crossed the Columbia
River by bridges to the North and South.
With a community center area, softball fields, handball courts, boat
launching areas, camping area, and many more amenities makes this park one of
the attractions of Wenatchee.
A 2 week long festival, The
Washington State Appleblossom Festival, occurs on the last weekend in April and
fist weekend in May. There are parades each weekend with marching bands and
floats coming from Canada, Oregon, and from all over the state of Washington.
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Well, aren't we wonderful |
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By Michelle McNiel, World staff writer |
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Posted August 11, 2007 |
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 Wenatchee was among the top 10 mountain towns on the National Geographic Adventure list. (Provided) |
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WENATCHEE -- We're green.
We're safe. We're living in one of the hottest real estate markets. Now we're an
adventure hub.
National Geographic Adventure
has picked Wenatchee as one of the top 50 adventure towns in the country. On its
Web site, the magazine describes the list as it’s first-ever guide to the best
mountain, urban, coastal, wilderness and small towns "where you can live the
adventure dream daily."
The story will appear in the
September issue of National Geographic Adventure, which hits the news stands on
Tuesday. The magazine is published 10 times a year with a circulation of 575,000
copies. The magazine is read by an estimated 2.3 million people.
Magazine spokesman Ethan
Fried said communities were picked based on the ability to "live and play"
comfortably in them.
Since becoming a metropolitan
area, Wenatchee is finding its way onto national and state top-10 lists. In
March, Country Home magazine ranked it the fifth greenest city in America.
In October, Wenatchee was
named the safest metropolitan city in Washington based on crime rates.
The city also has been
recognized in recent years for having one of the hottest real estate markets for
its rising home prices and lack of available housing.
Wenatchee outdoors writer
Andy Dappen said the national recognition is a "double-edged sword."
He said promoting the city's
outdoor attributes will attract new residents who will appreciate and support
development of recreation.
"But some towns that make it
on a lot of national lists over time can become gentrified," he said. "People
come in with fairly high paying jobs."
Real estate prices rise and
middle-income people can no longer afford to live there, he said, citing Bend,
Ore., as a place where that is happening.
"The thing I love about
Wenatchee is that it is a real-person town with a wide variety of industry, from
fruit to aluminum," he said. "There's a danger of driving out the real people
and ending up with a resort town."
He added that he believes
Wenatchee deserves a spot on the list of top adventure towns, though.
"We're not miscast in terms
of having outdoor attributes of national caliber," he said.
Michelle McNiel: 509-664-7152
mcniel@wenworld.com
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