Tonasket/McLaughlin Canyon

Named for Chief Tonasket of the Okanogan Indians, this town is surrounded by scenic beauty and steeped in “wild west” heritage. Tonasket is a gateway to the frontier mining communities of Loomis, Nighthawk, Palmer Lake and Conconully, and is surrounded by many modern day dude ranches where guests can live out their dreams of life in the old west.  Centered in the Okanogan Highlands, it is also one of the state’s most prolific fruit-growing regions.  A taste of local peaches, apples, and other fresh-from-the-farm fruit should be a requirement for all visitors.

Recreation however, is the name of the game in Tonasket.  Tourists flock to the area each summer for excellent camping, hiking, boating and fishing opportunities.  It is located near several prominent natural areas including McLaughlin Canyon, a steep walled granitic box canyon famous for an 1858 ambush of gold miners.  Whitestone Butte and the Riverside Wall are also fascinating natural attractions of mammoth granite cliffs rounded by the scouring of glaciers from the last ice age.