About Cle Elum

The name Cle Elum, which means “swift water” in the language of the Kittitas Indians, was given to a river, town, and the lake created by the construction of the Cle Elum Dam. Cle Elum was officially incorporated on February 12, 1902.

The Upper County is the gateway to a vast wilderness area. Few other areas offer the abundance of recreational opportunities available here. The cities are located at the foot of the Cascade Mountains. With access to thousands of acres of mountain forest and high country lakes and streams, the area is a summer paradise for backpackers, campers and fishermen. In the winter, the hills and mountains draw cross-country skiers, snowmobilers and snowshoers to find their own paths or follow the many groomed trails in the Wenatchee National Forest and across state and private lands.

The town was the birthplace of astronaut Dick Scobee, the commander of the Space Shuttle Challenger that exploded.  Headed by John Bresko, Cle Elum was the first town that is west of Denver, Colorado to have organized skiing. Starting in 1921, 100 to 400 people skied every weekend throughout the winters. In 1931 the largest crowd of approximately 8,000 spectators gathered in Cle Elum for ski jumping events. The skiing and jumping events ended in 1934, during the great Depression.

In the towns, many unique specialty stores and ethnic shops are available for those that chose to do some shopping, and several museums retell our colorful history. Cle Elum, Roslyn and South Cle Elum also all have parks available for public use.

Good old-fashioned fun is scheduled throughout the year. Please see the Events Calendar for information on upcoming events.

Be sure to check out the tourism website at visitkittitas.com