MANSON, Wash. — Don't miss Manson on the North Shore of Lake Chelan. It's a small town that's worth exploring. Here are just a few things we found that make Manson awesome:
If you get there early, head to the bay that's right downtown. You might catch longtime lifeguard Viki Downey and her pals taking their morning dip. This 72-year-old has given free swimming lessons in Manson Bay since 1998. She's taught nearly every kid in this town how to swim. She says it keeps her young - and that there's something in Lake Chelan's water.
"The water has just an amazing feeling here. I've had people all over the world tell me the same thing,” she said. "I don't know, it feels one with you. It's just amazing water."
Just upslope from the lake – a bounty of beauty. The U pick tulip field at Chelan Valley Farms has 30,000 bulbs that bloom at the same time as the apple orchard blossoms. Proof that you don't have to be in the Skagit Valley to grow tulips.
"People will come, pick the tulips. You can wander the orchard and see the orchard in full bloom. The springtime is really when the farm comes to life,” said Chad Steiner, who owns and operates the farm with his wife Jeana.
This working farm also has some critters: chickens, pygmy goats and some new lambs. It grows grapes and makes wine. And it welcomes visitors. There's even a guesthouse. The operating philosophy here: places this special should be shared.
"What I love about Manson is if you look behind me, it's national forest. So we're literally up against the national forest and there's no highway that comes through here. You're at the end of the road. And at the end of the road, we've got great restaurants. We've got places like this that you can come and bring the family,” said Steiner. "It's really that warm place to be where it's that small town feel."
And of course, this town's winery scene is on fire. Alta Cellars is housed in Manson’s historic fire station. This is the only winery we've ever visited that has its own fire engine. Owners Brock and Erica Lindsay got it at auction in Manson and parked it out back.
“Yeah, we wanted to bring the original fire truck home,” said Brock.
There’s some poetic justice in having a winery in the town's historic firehouse. Before the Lindsays became winemakers, they lost their home in the Carlton Complex wildfire. They moved their family to Manson and followed their calling to be winemakers (they also own Succession Wines). And now they couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
Brock summed up the big draw of this small town: "Look at this beautiful community we get to live in. We get to make these award-winning wines on this beautiful lake, right? I mean, you can't beat it and I don't think there's another place like this in the west coast.”
Manson's Apple Blossom Festival is Saturday, May 13 with the Grand Parade at 11 a.m.
Sponsored by Visit Lake Chelan.
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