Area Information
Lake Chelan
The Lake Chelan Valley sits in central Washington State, nestled in the North Cascades National Forest. The Chelan Valley encompasses the communities of Chelan, Manson & Stehekin. This pristine, 50.5 mile glacier-fed lake is 1.5 miles at its widest and 1486 ft. at its deepest point. The population of the valley consists of 10,000 year-round residents and several hundred more part-time residents.
Roads extend less than halfway to the headwaters of Lake Chelan. Beyond the end of the road, rugged snowcapped peaks rise over 7,000 feet from the lakeshore. Dark evergreens cover the mountainsides. Deep valleys rise from the lake to massive glaciers in the heart of the North Cascades. At the upper end of Lake Chelan, limited, local roads do not connect the communities of Stehekin and Holden Village to the outside world.
Rufus Woods - Who's that?
The reservoir created by the Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River was designated Rufus Woods Lake in 1952, in honor of the editor/owner of the The Wenatchee World newspaper, who used his paper as a means of publicity for the cause of developing the Columbia River basin. To read more history of the lake and the dam please visit the official Chief Joseph Dam website.
Recreation at Chief Joseph Dam is centered around the Columbia River. Behind the dam is fifty-one mile long Rufus Woods Lake. Fishing, boating, camping and hiking are the most popular recreation activities.
Chief Joseph Dam is the second largest hydropower producing dam in the United States. It is the largest hydropower producing dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Alone it produces enough power to supply the whole Seattle metropolitan area. Power produced here is marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration. Fifty-one mile long Rufus Woods Lake offers a bounty of recreation opportunities.
Rufus Woods Lake anglers fish primarily for walleye, rainbow trout, and landlocked sockeye salmon (kokanee).