South Central

South Central Washington covers the four counties — Benton, Kittitas, Klickitat, Yakima — that stretch from the eastern slopes of the Cascades to the Columbia River. The terrain shifts from forested high country at Snoqualmie Pass and the Cascade crest down through irrigated orchards and vineyards in the Yakima Valley to dry shrub-steppe and basalt cliffs along the Columbia Gorge. Yakima anchors the region with the surrounding Yakima Valley wine country; Kennewick and Richland sit on the eastern edge in Benton County, sharing the Tri-Cities metro with Pasco across the Columbia; Ellensburg holds Central Washington University and the Labor Day rodeo grounds; Goldendale, Bingen, and the Maryhill Museum of Art sit on the eastern Columbia Gorge; Cle Elum and Roslyn run the I-90 corridor through the Cascades. Trips here usually anchor on wine country or the Cascade pass. The Yakima Valley AVAs make for a long weekend of tasting rooms and cider houses; the Columbia Gorge run from Maryhill to White Salmon adds scenic-drive miles; the Ellensburg Rodeo is the regional event. Summer is the working season; the vines color in October.