Where to Ski at Lake Chelan
Local and Regional Options
Lake Chelan serves as a great base camp for winter skiing adventures. Whether cross-country or downhill, beginner or advanced, the valley offers access to many local and regional ski options. Learn more and hit the slopes!
Youth rides the Poma lift at Echo Valley
SKI LOCAL
Lake Chelan is blessed to have two local ski options. Echo Valley and Echo Ridge are both located on the north side of the lake, a short twenty minutes from downtown Chelan.
Local Downhill – Echo Valley
If you love Lake Chelan because of the small-town feel, you don’t want to miss Echo Valley. Started in the 1950’s by a group of volunteers, the small ski club has managed to defy all odds and continues to operate some sixty-five years later.
The lodge feels much like it did when constructed in 1961. You are greeted by the warmth of a large roaring fireplace and the smells of steaming chili and roasting hot dogs.
Outside, the three rope tows offer beginner to intermediate skiing options and the nearby poma lift offers additional intermediate options. The hill is set at 3,000 feet and offers 900’ of vertical. Ski rentals and lessons are available on site. Given its small, community nature, Echo is a great place to learn to ski.
Local Cross Country – Echo Ridge
Echo Ridge enjoys a “best-kept secret” status in North Central Washington. The Ridge extends as a series of “stacked loops” that ring out from the central parking lot. The Ridge is a jointly managed by the US Forest Service and the Lake Chelan Nordic Club.
There are no ski rentals on site, but you can pick up gear as you drive by Echo Valley on your way to the base parking lot. The Club owns and cares for a small warming hut near the parking lot.
My Echo Ridge “Beginner’s Guide” blog post offers many more details. The following video gives you a flavor of the terrain and views.
SKI REGIONALLY
If you want downhill turns with a bit more challenge, two options exist within a ninety-minute drive of Lake Chelan. Mission Ridge is the perennial favorite, located just outside of Wenatchee. And Loup Loup, located near Twisp, is also a great day experience.
Mission Ridge
Mission Ridge started in the late 1960s and since its inception, has been the go-to ski area for North Central Washington. It enjoys a 2,250-foot vertical drop from summit to base, a new high-speed quad, three double chair lifts, and two rope tows.
From the Mission Ridge summit on clear days, you can see many of the big Washington peaks – Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, and Glacier. There are a host of off-trail runs. Ask a local to show you around. My daughter and I enjoy the Bomber Cliffs area to the right of chair two. A bit of a hike, but some great turns.
Mission Ridge offers an extensive array of lessons and rentals and the Hampton Lodge (named after the first manager of Mission) has you covered for lunch eats and apre´s ski fun.
Loup Loup Ski Bowl
If you are searching for the local charm of Echo Valley with a bit of the polish and vertical drop of Mission, head straight to Loup Loup Ski Bowl.
“The Loup”, as locals call it, sports 1,240 ft of vertical drop, a triple chair, Poma, and rope tow. The lodge at the base is set at 4,020 ft. On most years this elevation translates into deep and dry snow.
The Loup also offers lessons, rentals, a host of food options in the lodge, as well as nordic options for those who would prefer to cross-country.
HISTORY
Echo Valley and The Loup each have their own unique origin stories as community-run ski areas. Many other such ski hills existed throughout North Central Washington and several, like Echo and the Loup, are still in operation.
In 2008, the Institute for Rural Innovation and Stewardship (IRIS), created a video based upon oral histories of early community ski area founders. If you like history, it is worth the watch.
