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Visitor Information about
the Yakima Valley.
Yakima, WA is located
in south central Washington
State. Yakima is
east of the Cascade Mountains. Washingtonians call all of this area Eastern Washington.
Yakima lies east of Mount
Rainier, the largest mountain in the state. Mount Rainier is in the Cascade
Mountains.
The eastern two thirds of
Washington State
is uniquely different from the western Washington coastal plain. Eastern Washington
lies east of the mountain range that holds the moisture from the Pacific
Storms to the west. That gives Eastern Washington a dryer, warmer climate in the
tourist season and a colder and dryer climate in the winter months.
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Yakima
River Canyon
Originally, the only
highway from Ellensburg, WA,
north of Yakima at the Junction of
Interstate-90 and Interstate-82, was down a narrow highway winding along
the Yakima River at the bottom of the steep Yakima River Canyon.
In the 1950’s when the Interstate
system was constructed they built a new highway over the top of the hills
east of the river and named it Interstate-82. This highway climbs much higher hills
that the Yakima Canyon Highway
but it has four lanes and is much
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The view at the south end of the
Yakima Canyon Highway
The Yakima
Valley is in the
distance.
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Southbound Bridge over the Yakima
River on I-82 at north Yakima
Sage Brush in
the Yakima Valley
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straighter. The Canyon is the more scenic route and
offers beautiful scenery through the canyon.
The hills that I-82
crosses over between Ellensburg and Yakima
are high desert hills that are basically grass covered. In the spring they turn green but by
early summer they are dry and the green is gone from the grass.
Yakima Training Center
All of the land in the
hills east of I-82 clear to the Columbia River,
approximately 20 miles square, is the Yakima Training
Center of the US Army. This is mainly a firing range for
artillery and tanks.
The Valley
from the North
As you break over the
hills and enter Yakima
Valley from the north
the valley floor is green as far as the eye can see.
This was not the original
condition of the valley. It was
scrub brush when the first settlers arrived and initially they tried to
graze cattle.
It didn’t take long to
figure out that with the addition of water the valley was very
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fertile and crops would
grow. My great-grandfather moved to
the Yakima Valley at the turn of the 20th
century. He was one of the original
investors in the irrigation system that brought water to the valley. It is that irrigation that brought the
green to the valley.
It didn’t take the
farmers long to learn that the climate was perfect for fruit trees and soon
the valley floor and the lower flatter hills were covered in fruit orchards
and hop fields.
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First
Blossoms on an orchard.
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Vineyards
Today there is a new
fruit rapidly gaining stature in the fruit growing business, the wine
grape. Over 95% of the grapes grown
in Washington State are grown in the Columbia Basin.
The Yakima Valley AVA (American
Viniculture Area) was the first AVA designated by the US Government in the
State of Washington. Within the Yakima Valley AVA are two
newer AVA’s, Rattlesnake Hills AVA and Red Mountain AVA.
We have more information
on our
Yakima Valley Wine Page.
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You will find
wineries and tasting rooms of every size and shape in the Yakima Valley
AVA.
However, it
isn’t only wineries that you will find in the Yakima Valley. Many of the fruit ranches in the valley
have fruit stands where you can purchase the pick of the crop of tree
ripened fruit.
Cities in the
Yakima Valley
The cities in
the Yakima Valley run right down
Interstate-82. However, the cities
formed where they are not because of the road, but generally because of the
railroad or the River.
The cities in
the Yakima Valley are, from the northeast to the southwest, Naches, Selah,
Yakima, Wapato, Toppenish, Zillah, Granger, Sunnyside, Grandview, Prosser,
and lastly Benton City. Benton City
is only 11 miles from The Tri-Cities of Richland,
Pasco, and Kennewick.
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