aa In    1883    the    lure    of    gold    brought    the    first    white settlers,   including   Guy   Waring,   to   Okagonan   county, where   they   encountered   the   first   people   who   were living   there.   Waring   stopped   in   the   area   of   Methow and   became   the   acclaimed   founding   father,   but   the city,   which   was   founded   on   March   12,   1924,   was named     after     Yale     graduate     and     gifted     author, Theodore Winthrop. Waring's    original    Duck    Brand    Saloon    was    built    in 1891.   Fortunately   it   survived   the   town   fire   of   1893 and     later     became     Winthrop's     town     hall.     Also, Winthrop   is   the   home   to   the   oldest   legal   saloon   in W  a s h i  n g t o n S t a t e , t h e " T h r e e F  i n g e r e d J a c k '  s    Saloon". W  h i  l e s p e n d i  n g h i  s h o n e y m o o n i n W  i  n t h r o p ,    Waring's    Harvard    roommate    Owen    Wister    wrote t h e     f i r s t w e s t e r n n o v e l: " T h e V i r gin i a n " . T h e opening   of   highway   20   in   1972   forced   the   business people   to   plan   for   a   lot   of   visitors   passing   through the   town.   It   was   decided   that   Winthrop   should   be w e s t e r n t h e m e d , d u e t o i  n s p i r a t i  o n f r o m    Leavenworth, WA. Now it is not only a tourist attraction, but also a good place for the locals to go biking or hiking.

Winthrop Old railroad town turned into a classic Western village, a tourist attraction.

Category: tourist town Location: 48.4779° N 1 2 0 . 1 8 6 2 ° W Elevation: 539m Opening times: 24/7 Distance to Wenatchee: 118km I    went    there    on    a    chilly    saturday    with    my    host    family.    I expected   it   to   be   a   wholly   traditional   western   village,   without cars   and   with   buildings   that   look   like   the   ones   that   can   be seen   in   movies.   When   we   drove   into   Winthrop,   at   first   I   was stunned.   It   was   nothing   like   I   expected   it   to   be.   As   I   looked around   me   I   saw   a   regular   village   with   many   cars   buzzing   and s t r e e t s i  g n s s t a n d i n g a t t h e c o r n e r s . A w a v e o f    disappointment   flushed   through   me,   as   the   only   resemblance to   "western"   were   some   buildings,   who   were   wooden   and looked   a   bit   like   the   things   you   would   see   in   the   "Westworld". One    of    the    only    houses    I    was    content    with    was    the    town Hall/Information     center.     It     looked     really     great     with     it's wooden   structure   and   the   figure   in   front   of   it.   For   example, there   was   a   map   of   cross   country   skiing   tracks   for   the   winter and   good   biking   routes   for   the   summer.   Those   two   activities are   the   most   popular   in   Winthrop,   as   can   be   seen   if   one   looks at   the   number   of   bike/ski   stores   there.   After   wandering   a   bit around   town,   I   realized   it   was   actually   better   than   I   thought   it would   be   to   explore   Winthrop.   My   favourite   building   was   the bookstore,   because   the   atmosphere   in   there   was   beautiful.   I w o u l d d e s c r i  b e m y e x p e r i  e n c e a s e n j o y a b l e , b u t n o t    fasccinatingly amazing. In   short:   During   the   3   hours   I   spent   there,   it   became   clear, that   one   doesn't   go   to   Winthrop   to   enjoy   the   "western   way"   , but   to   be   in   awe   of   it's   surroundings   and   what   could   be   done for   fun   there.   I   am   not   a   particular   fan   of   the   town,   but   then again,   other   people   have   other   tastes   and   interests.   The   two hour   drive   to   Winthrop   is,   in   my   opinion,   not   worth   it,   but   I recommend Methow and the North Cascades.

! M y tip: I would definetly just wander around the town and pay attention to detail! There are some pretty things that are hidden at the first glance.