Your Okanogan Country vacation begins here:
Okanogan Country is not the big city
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Chronicle photo by Al Camp |
| Hunters are asked to respect 'no hunting' signs. |
Welcome to Okanogan Country, a big, beautiful expanse of north central Washington.
Anchored by Okanogan County, Wash., the Okanogan Country stretches from the craggy peaks of the North Cascades to the rolling wheat fields of the northern Columbia Basin and from the lower Okanogan's apple country to the high desert of south central British Columbia.
Okanogan Country's communities are joined by common history, culture and economies.
The folks who live in Okanogan Country love the land and the landscape. We make our livings largely from the land, taking care to preserve it for future generations.
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Chronicle photo by Susie Ives |
| Porcupines can be dangerous, especially to curious dogs. |
Major tracts of Okanogan Country are public land, home to the Okanogan, Wenatchee and Colville national forests, Pasayten Wilderness, Lake Chelan-Sawtooth Wilderness, Loomis State Forest, North Cascades National Park, and the Lake Roosevelt, Lake Chelan and Ross Lake national recreation areas. There are many scattered areas managed by the state, federal, tribal and provincial governments.
The southeast portion of the area, east of the Okanogan River, lies within the Colville Indian Reservation.
We welcome tourists to our wide-open spaces, but also offer a few words of caution to make your stay more pleasant:
- While we have plenty of public lands, we also have vast areas of privately owned property. Please respect landowners' property rights.
- Ask for and obtain permission before crossing private lands, then leave fences and gates as you find them.
- Much of the area is open range. That means livestock have the right of way on roads and highways.
- If you're hunting, don't shoot toward people's livestock or homes.
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Chronicle photo by Al Camp |
Chronicle photo by Al Camp |
| These are mules. | This is a mule deer. |
- Be wary of wild animals. We have rattlesnakes, bear, cougars, lynx and other potentially dangerous critters, along with a wide assortment of relatively harmless animals. Ticks are common in areas frequented by deer and livestock.
- Don't expect your cell phone to work everywhere. There are some areas where coverage is spotty or non-existent.
- Watch out for poison ivy.
- Be sure you don't contribute to the spread of noxious weeds and milfoil (a water-borne noxious plant). Check the underside of your vehicle and the propeller of your boat.
- Heed orchard spray signs.
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Jé Katell photo |
| Cattle drives are part of Okanogan Country's heritage - and cattle have the right of way in open range areas. |
- Be cautious with water use. Farmers, hydro generators and fish all depend on water being in our streams.
Come rendezvous with our friendly, hard-working people. Shop at a leisurely pace in our well-stocked stores. Revel in our beautiful scenery and diverse recreational opportunities. Sample our fine fruit, wines and beef.
We welcome visitors to our region and know you'll enjoy the area as much as we do.
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Emergency numbers Life in the country People, livestock share our forests |
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