A Weekend in Cle Elum
Visit:
Cle Elum is a small town with a lot of charm just 90 min from Seattle. It’s not just a pit stop while driving along I-90, but a lovely place worth a weekend stay, and has the friendliest locals. Downtown Cle Elum has a lot of great new businesses! Also, the downtown area has so many cool, colorful murals; the street artists did a great job brightening up the town.
Eat:
Local favorites include The Orchard, Cle Elum Coffee + Eats, Pioneer Coffee, Dru Bru (Dru Bru just relocated their flagship brewery to Cle Elum), Studebaker Alley, and Caboose. We enjoyed The Orchard’s 20 Day Dry Aged Steak and Chicken & Waffles for a romantic date night. The next day, we tried 509 Bake House’s eclairs which were so amazing, we went back a second time to buy more. For lunch, we had delicious coffee and sandwiches at Pioneer Coffee, which has the lovely colorful interior and a little shop. Finally, don’t miss Owen’s Meats (“The Candy Store for the Carnivore”) – we bought so much jerky, sausage, and steak to take home.
Stay:
The Field House @DigsCo is located in Downtown Cle Elum, directly next to a huge public field offering space for guests to spread out. Field House is run by Luke and Chelsea, a husband and wife team offering real estate brokerage, unique vacation rental management, consulting and interior design. The modern farmhouse décor is homey and comfortable, and I love the rustic barn doors in every room. The home has everything needed for a fun, relaxing weekend, including a cozy fireplace, TV, hot tub jacuzzi, BBQ grill, and a game room with foozeball/arcade basketball/ping pong. The welcome basket includes a frisbee for humans and pups to enjoy on the field.
The Field House can hold 12 people and is pup and kid friendly. It’s incredibly spacious and the perfect spot to host multiple families or groups of friends, whether for holiday gatherings, summer vacations, or family reunions. I loved the well-stocked kitchen and large kitchen island, which is perfect for cooking and feeding a crowd. The plentiful storage space in each room is great when traveling with young kids. Guests can book DigsCo homes/cabins directly off their website to save money and allow for much more flexibility.
Things to do:
Cle Elum offers incredible hiking trails, dining and shopping. Since the weather was so lovely, I walked from The Field House to Downtown Cle Elum for some shopping. Definitely check out the antique mall, Black Sheep Home Goods, Cavallini’s Gifts, and Basecamp Outfitters. Locals recommend snowmobiling and snowshoeing in the winter snow. For hiking, Gold Creek Pond is one of my favorite scenic hikes in Washington that is baby friendly; Red Top Lookout Trail is also an easy trail with a great view. Lake Easton and Lake Easton is a beautiful place to explore year round. We love exploring all these hikes with our dog!
