Wenatchee Foothills

The Wenatchee Foothills rise behind the city of Wenatchee, connecting the forests of the Cascade Mountains to the shrub-steppe deserts of eastern Washington. Saddle Rock and Castle Rock, remnants of extinct volcanoes, punctuate the rolling hills. Trails lead hikers from neighborhood streets to the top of Castle Rock and across the foothills.

The Wenatchee Foothills have been a core part of the community’s identity for decades. The first effort to protect Saddle Rock began in 1909, when the mayor tried to acquire the iconic landmark as a city park. Though initial efforts for a city park at Saddle Rock were unsuccessful, early recognition of the importance of the foothills helped protect them throughout the 20th century. By 2000, there was a patchwork of public lands and an extensive network of heavily used informal trails. Recognizing the value to the community, many landowners allowed the public to enjoy trails through their properties. In many ways, the Wenatchee Foothills felt like public land. But in reality, most of the foothills were privately owned.

As the community grew, pressure to develop moved into the foothills. Concerned that this special landscape could be lost, community members called to protect the foothills. In response, TPL, Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, and partners led community conversations to create a shared vision and strategy to protect the Wenatchee Foothills.

Knowing they’d need the support of generous donors to protect properties at risk of development and care for them into the future, TPL and Chelan-Douglas Land Trust launched a joint campaign in 2011 to raise funds to implement the community’s vision for the foothills. Later that year, the community celebrated a long-held goal: Chelan-Douglas Land Trust partnered with the City of Wenatchee to acquire Saddle Rock as a city park.

Buoyed by early support for the campaign, TPL and Chelan-Douglas Land Trust went to work protecting vulnerable properties. We purchased a key property to expand access to Castle Rock from nearby neighborhoods and two more properties to connect Horse Lake Reserve to the city. The two-year campaign raised $8.4 million for purchasing land, building trails, and stewardship. The campaign helped Chelan-Douglas Land Trust restore habitat and improve the trail system to support the growing number of hikers and bikers in the foothills.

The Wenatchee Foothills Campaign doubled the land available to the public in the foothills. You can experience the legacy of this successful campaign in the views of rolling hills, connected trails, thriving wildlife, and vibrant wildflowers in spring. However, hundreds of acres in the area remain unprotected. Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, the City of Wenatchee, and partners continue to work to ensure that the rolling foothills stay intact and connected for the next generation to explore.