Things to Do in Wenatchee

Having grown weary of the Texas tropes of football and heavy-handed competition, James Moore sought some kind of escape. At the advice of his father, he enrolled in Prescott College in Arizona for its unorthodox and outdoorsy approach to education. The school's recreation program lured James to Moab, Utah, where he received his first taste of whitewater rafting. After 30 days hiking the red-rock country, rafting the Green River, and living off peanut butter and freeze-dried dinners, James was not convinced the outdoors were his calling. He struggled to develop survival skills or cultivate an innate sense of how to navigate the wilderness. After one year at Prescott, he found himself returning to Texas.

It was a three-day kayaking trip with his father and brother-in-law on the Guadalupe River that showed James that working together and challenging themselves in such exhilarating conditions could bring people closer to each other and to nature. It wasn't long before he was off again, cramming all his earthly possessions into his pastel-blue '74 Ford Pinto and departing for Western Washington University in Bellingham. Once there, his love affair with the outdoors came to fruition while hiking the lush forests and rafting the bucking rapids of the Pacific Northwest. He was finally at ease in his surroundings.

Orion River Expeditions is the living continuation of James's journey and how he has ultimately solidified his relationship with the great outdoors and his community. He and his team lead explorers down seven of the Pacific Northwest's most scenic and adventuresome rivers, from the Wenatchee in Washington to the Deschutes in Oregon. Each trip strives to bring participants closer to their fellow passengers and their natural surroundings.

In the calm waters around the grassy shores of Waterfront Park and Blackbird Island, people glide on standup paddleboards as experienced staff guides their paddles and trajectory, and help them balance. Elsewhere on the river, groups float by in durable tubes outfitted with hammock seats and backrests, or churn the river currents in inflatable kayaks. Tube Leavenworth's staffers oversee all of these excursions on a shallow stretch of the Wenatchee River. Guides also direct many of their customers to the warm interiors of Der Hinterhof, where local and traveling artists fill the courtyard with live music. At the Gypsy Café, casual fare mingles with craft draughts, and representatives from Washington breweries often visit to explain the secrets of their craft and debunk anti-beer propaganda spread by martini lobbyists.

For more than 40 years, the trained and professional pilots at Chelan Seaplanes have been floating passengers through the air on exotic day trips and scenic charter flights. Flights ferry passengers the 25 minutes back and forth to Stehekin, giving them unique views of the Lake Chelan Valley and the snow-topped Cascade Mountains. Passengers pick and choose from a collection of diverse sightseeing tours or climb aboard Chelan's amphibious aircraft for a chartered flight to Seattle and British Columbia. Clyde and his son, Shane, also lead adventurous outdoorsmen on a diverse collection of day-trip packages. Trips fuse flying with an afternoon of kayaking, fly fishing, hiking, or river-rafting, ferrying guests back at the end of the day full of stories about meeting celebrity waterfowl.

Though the tranquil, Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth is usually quiet, today it is abuzz with the sound of scooters supplied by Uber Scooter Rentals. Honda Metropolitan and Ruckus scooters meander through the nearby hills and mountain passes, ferrying passengers to scenic areas and pastoral photo ops. The Metropolitan turns heads with its classic European-inspired design, and the Ruckus sports oversized tires to navigate dirt and gravel roads with ease. Uber Scooter Rentals even gives adventurous guests an extra gas can if they desire, allowing them to fuel up for a few more miles or set fire to any rusty tin men who ask to hitch a ride.

[[m:####Adventure Aviation Trike Flights The duo of Robe “Bedo” Lyons and John “Wink” Winkenwader founded Adventure Aviation Trike Flights in 2007 to share their love of small-scale aviation with first-time fliers and those looking to get certified. The piloting pals take to the skies in light sport-weight trikes, which are open-air vehicles with glider wings that can make safe takeoffs and landings on three wheels or on pontoons. Instructional discovery flights take visitors up for jaunts over Lake Chelan, where they can take in scenic vistas and verify the cotton count of passing clouds. Those wishing to take on a solo career can opt for complete flight-certification courses, including expert ground-school and one-on-one flight instruction.:m]]

Depending on the time of year, exploring Kahler Glen Golf & Ski Resort's patch of evergreen forest requires either a set of golf clubs or a pair of cross country skis. On clear summer days, the grass shines green and the snowcapped peaks of the Cascades dominate the horizon as visitors strap on their golf bags and voyage over steep mountain inclines and past six lakes. The 5,893-yard layout leads them down chutes formed by narrow fairways and high walls of evergreen trees, en route to a par of 70.

In the winter, snow blankets the terrain and fairways instantly transform into cross-country ski trails. Kahler Glen grooms several kilometers of private trails, which connect to the Lake Wenatchee trail system just to the northwest, adding up to more than 30 kilometers of skiable terrain and Yeti walking trails.