The foothills to the west of Wenatchee are a natural treasure, ideal for wildlife viewing and recreation. CDLT is leading a strong effort to make sure that local people can enjoy the Wenatchee Foothills far into the future. The focal point of this effort is the Wenatchee Foothills Trail, a path that would link Saddlerock, Castle Rock, and the Sage Hills. Informal trails already exist in these areas, but we are working to develop a formal trail with convenient and attractive parking areas. In recent years, development has threatened or eliminated access to areas in the foothills that local people have enjoyed for decades. We are fortunate to have large areas of public land in the foothills and private landowners who are wiling to let people cross their land. It would be shortsighted to not maintain access to these areas for future generations.

The Foothills also provide important habitat for a wide variety of birds and animals and contain outstanding examples of native shrub-steppe plant communities. The foothills are an easily accessible living laboratory for local schools. All the first and fifth graders in the Wenatchee School District now enjoy a day of science education at Saddlerock.

• June, 2007 - The Land Trust has Patrick Walker as a full-time Trails Coordinator;
• The Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) awarded grant funding to implement Phase 1 of the Wenatchee Foothills Trail Plan. This will allow us to build trailheads at our Sage Hills (Day Drive) and Horse Lake properties, and build a new 4 mile trail to connect the existing Sage Hills trail with the Horse Lake trailhead. Work will begin fall 2007, and should be completed for summer 2008.
• Trails Plan - As a result of several years work by the Land Trust and the Wenatchee Trails Committee, the Wenatchee Foothills Trail Plan was included in the City's Parks Comprehensive Plan. The Parks Plan was adopted as part of the City's overall Coprehensive Plan in May, 2007.
• In 2006 the Land Trust purchased the Burts and Wallace Ranches, an area of more than 1500 acres at the upper end of Horse Lake Road, on the northern end of the Sage Hills. These two properties will be permanently protected with land preservation agreements and sold to conservation buyers, preserving public access to portions of the property via a specific trail corridor located away from the home sites and sensitive wildlife areas;
• The City of Wenatchee is investigating the feasibility of acquiring Saddlerock to manage it as a public park;
• In June 2005 the Wenatchee Trail Connections Design Charrette produced excellent ideas for trail head design and linkages to existing community resources;
• In 2004 a technical assistance grant from the National Parks Service Rivers and Trails program and a grant from STEPS to a Healthier US facilitated great progress in public outreach and beginning a Master Trail Plan for the Foothills.
• In 2001 the CDLT raised enough money to purchase the Prime Lands property owned by Randy Cooper, a key to maintaining access to and use of the fabulous Sage Hills trail at Day Drive. 
• Frank and Betsy Peryea bought Castle Rock to preserve it as open space; and with tremendous support from the local community;
• Dr. John Jacobson donated about 30 acres on the north side of Saddle Rock to the CDLT at the end of 2000, and a local neighbor purchased and donated 5 more acres;
• The Lester Trail forms part of the Sage Hills Trail as well and is open due to the generosity of the Lester family.

These steps help to supplement and extend foothills trails corridors already in place on privately owned lands and public lands owned by Chelan County PUD, the US Bureau of Land Management, the US Forest Service, the Washington Department of Natural Resources. 

Maps: for directions, parking information and maps, download the Foothills Trail map and brochure (pdf file)