Ellensburg Travel Guide

Introduction

110 miles SE of Seattle, 36 miles N of Yakima, 75 miles S of Wenatchee

Ellensburg, which lies on the edge of cattle- and sheep-ranching country just east of the last Cascade foothills, is a town with a split personality. On the one hand, it is a small college town, site of Central Washington University. However, it is also a classic cow town best known as the site of the Ellensburg Rodeo, one of the West's top rodeos. A downtown full of historic commercial buildings further adds to the character of this town, and proximity to the mountains and ski area at Snoqualmie Pass make it a good base for summer hiking or winter skiing. Although the town isn't really a destination per se, its proximity to Seattle and a sunny climate make it a quick escape from the Puget Sound rains.

Most of the buildings in the downtown historic district, one of the most attractive in the state, date from 1889, the year in which most of the town's commercial buildings were destroyed by a Fourth of...