Wenatchee Foothills

In 2000, the Jacobson family left a permanent legacy to the Wenatchee community when it donated 35 acres of prime shrub-steppe habitat in the Wenatchee Foothills to the Land Trust.  This gift guarantees permanent community access to enjoy the beauty of the foothills.

When you stand in the middle of Horse Lake Ranch, you stand in the middle of a conservation success story.

Foothills North Natural Area’s 382 acres of shrub-steppe habitat provides stunning views of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers, vital homes for wildlife, and an important trail connection.

The Fariview Canyon property connects Horse Lake Reserve with the adjoining National Forest, protecting the vital link that allows wildlife to move from the mountains to the valley. Mule deer use this migration corridor to access their winter range in the Wenatchee Foothills.

Dry Gulch LLC, an offshoot of Appleatchee Riders, partnered with the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust to develop a conservation easement on 685 acres comprised of shrub-steppe and native bunchgrass, reclaimed mining lands, winter wheat fields, and retired grazing pastures.

Plants and wildflowers add to the beauty of our foothills and improve the air and water quality, enrich and maintain the soil, sustain wildlife and provide humans with food and medicine.

The Jacobson family left a permanent legacy to the Wenatchee community when it donated 35 acres of prime shrub-steppe habitat in the Wenatchee Foothills to the Land Trust.

This is a 2 mile trail with 500 feet of total elevation difference between either end, connecting to the bottom end of Apricot Crisp near the old Horse Lake bed, and also to the ranch road just above the old ranch homesteads.

This trail is in the upper elevations of the Horse Lake Reserve and meanders through some wonderful wildflower patches, big fir trees, viewpoints of the Cascade Mountains, and birding territory. The trail can be reached by following the Old Ranch Road from the gate, or by taking Homestead Trail to where it connects to the Old Ranch Road.

This 1,700-acre reserve represents a critical piece of protected open lands in the Wenatchee Foothills. Wildlife can move from the mountains to the valley. Mule deer will always find a winter haven here.