Do I believe Wenatchee is ugly? Now to start, disregarding all the surrounding areas such as Leavenworth and Chelan, in my personal opinion, Wenatchee lacks a bit in its natural surroundings. I may be a bit biased as my favorite environment is lush and rainy weather, but Wenatchee at certain times of the year can be ugly. Don’t get me wrong, the balsamroot blooming in the spring, and the autumn colors in the fall are breathtaking. However, the dry, smoky summer landscape and bleak, dead winter slum can get real.
I often forget that we are technically considered a desert here in Wenatchee, but that would explain some of the dry weather and surrounding areas. Personally, the mountains surrounding our area can be beautiful, especially with snow, but sometimes the brown shades can be a little underwhelming.
Now transitioning to an activities side of things, Wenatchee does have a lot of opportunities for outdoor exploration. For example, having Mission Ridge, mountain biking and hiking so close is a convenience. The only thing I would have against Wenatchee’s range of activities would be the fact that in my opinion, I would much rather go on a Leavenworth hike than a Wenatchee one. Now don’t get me wrong, Clara Lake, Saddle Rock and Castle are great conveniences to have ten minutes from my front door, but will I be taking aesthetic pictures and be blown away by the views? Probably not.
As for the river running through our valley, I don’t think I could argue anything against it. The Columbia River is beautiful, and there’s really nothing bad to say about it. It’s a great convenience to have in the hot summers. I would recommend paddle boarding on it in the summer and swimming at any convenience.
Finally, let’s discuss the winters in Wenatchee. Personally, most winters here can be quite miserable. If the snow is nice and we have a decent amount of it, then great! I’d consider Wenatchee winters pretty. However, most of the time we get some snow at random increments throughout the year, but not enough to stay for long. So most of the time we are left with brown snow slush on the sides of the roads. Now if you go up into the mountains in wintertime this experience will be much more preferable, but looking in town, the overcast weather and slush can be a little drowsy.
Overall I’d give Wenatchee a 6.5/10 rating. At certain times of the year, it can be a beautiful place to be. Although, I would also argue that other times it’s not the best. We are lucky to have mountains, snow, and so many outdoor activities surrounding us. We are also lucky to be surrounded by places as beautiful as Leavenworth and Chelan. Still, I personally just do not see myself living in a place like Wenatchee.
