7 Offbeat Towns to Visit in The Pacific Northwest
In 1923 Ellensburg held its first Labor Day rodeo, and the rodeo has run every Labor Day since. In 1965 Leavenworth voted to rebuild its downtown as a Bavarian village to save itself after the railroad rerouting, and the buildings have stayed in character ever since. In 1985 Astoria became the set of The Goonies, and the town has been answering questions about it for forty years. The other four Pacific Northwest towns ahead (Garden Valley, Sequim, Cottage Grove, Sandpoint) each made similar one-thing bets at similar moments around hot springs, lavender, covered bridges, and a deep mountain lake respectively. None of the seven has ever stopped paying off on the bet.
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg sits east of the Cascade Range along the Yakima River and runs at a pace shaped by its university and its rodeo heritage. Hiking and biking trails fan out from town, and the Yakima River Canyon brings campers, rafters, and fly fishers a short drive south. Annual events include the Ellensburg Winterhop Brewfest, the First Friday Art Walk each month, and Junk-tique in the Burg Vintage Show. The Ellensburg Rodeo each Labor Day weekend has been running since 1923 and remains one of the top-25-attended professional rodeos in the country. Before leaving town, the Barn Quilt Trail is a scenic drive honoring the local agricultural heritage and the families who settled the area.
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria sits on the Oregon coast at the mouth of the Columbia River. Striking on its own merits, the town is most famous as the set of the 1985 film The Goonies. The Oregon Film Museum focuses on The Goonies exhibits, along with National Lampoon's Animal House and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The Goonies Road Trip is essential for checking out the filming locations. Other attractions include the Sunday Market from May through October, the Columbia River Maritime Museum, and paragliding along the Oregon coast. A drive along Astoria's Backdoor Byway passes mini trails, rushing waterfalls, and views of the state's towering Douglas fir, hemlock, and spruce trees.
Garden Valley, Idaho
Garden Valley runs along the shoreline of the Payette River and sits about 45 minutes from the state capital of Boise. The town works for an outdoor getaway, with hot springs, wildlife, and easy access to hiking trails surrounding it. The local outdoor catalog runs through ATVing and offroading, horseback riding, stargazing, and camping. Nearby hot springs include Pine Flats, Rocky Canyon, and Kirkham. Movie buffs head for the Starlight Mountain Theatre, while whitewater rafters find their pulse on the runs of the Payette River.
Sequim, Washington
Sequim sits along the Dungeness River near the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. It is also the lavender capital of North America, hosting the Sequim Lavender Festival Weekend in July around the fields that surround town. Other local festivals include the Sequim Sunshine Festival, the Olympic Peninsula Birdfest, and the Sequim Irrigation Festival. Sequim Bay State Park works as a year-round base for camping along with birdwatching and hiking. Olympic Coast Sailing Charters cover the area from the water, and geocaching in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley provides a different kind of treasure hunt through the local landscape.
Cottage Grove, Oregon
Cottage Grove is one of the better Oregon towns for slowing the day down, most famous for its six covered bridges. Locals brand the area the "Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon," and the self-guided tour passes covered bridges, local murals, and filming locations from The General, Animal House, and Stand By Me. Waterfall chasers find Trestle Creek Falls and Brice Creek Falls along with Moon, Pinard, and Spirit Falls. Water sports continue beyond the falls: water-skiing lakes like Fern Ridge Reservoir handle the flat-water end. The Row River Trail works well for families and cyclists, with scenery the whole way and several of the historic covered bridges along the route.
Sandpoint, Idaho
Sandpoint sits between the Rocky Mountains and the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, the largest lake in Idaho and the fifth-deepest in the United States at 1,150 feet. The proximity to water and mountains makes hiking, biking, camping, and water sports easy from town, and a winter trip to Schweitzer Mountain Resort opens up skiing, snowshoeing, and snowboarding. Annual events include the Festival at Sandpoint (the biggest music event of the year), the Winter Carnival, Lost in the 50s, and the Schweitzer Fall Fest.
Leavenworth, Washington
Leavenworth is the well-known Bavarian-style village in the Cascade Mountains. The decision to rebuild the downtown in Alpine style came in the 1960s as a Hail Mary to save the town from collapsing after the railroad rerouted; the gamble paid off, and the town has not broken character since. Waterfront Park runs along the Wenatchee River on the edge of downtown. The nearby Icicle Gorge Trailhead traverses the banks of the Icicle River and brings you deep into the Icicle Valley. The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum and the Greater Leavenworth Museum both cover the town's history, including the strategic decision behind the architectural rebrand.
How These Seven Hold Up
Each of the seven towns above runs on a specific anchor that the rest of the town has been built around: a long-running rodeo, a single movie, a hot-springs cluster, a lavender industry, a set of covered bridges, a deep mountain lake, or a Bavarian architectural rebrand. The Pacific Northwest's biggest cities and national parks pull the headlines, but the smaller towns are where the specific character lives, and the calendar of small festivals and events in each one keeps the locals turning out alongside the seasonal arrivals.
