High country in bloom, lakes you can actually swim in, and one eye on the smoke. August rewards the traveler who chases elevation and water.
By August the snow that lingered on the high passes through July is finally gone, and the meadows at Sunrise on Mount Rainier and along Highway 20 open into their two best weeks of the year. The lakes have been warming since June and now hold their heat straight through Labor Day, so Lake Chelan, Lake Wenatchee, and the Methow swimming holes are as good as they get. This is the one month when the alpine bloom and the warm water overlap.
It is also when the east side starts to haze. August is wildfire season in Washington, and the smart traveler plans around it: climb above the valley smoke into the high country, or get out onto the water where the air moves. The trade for the haze is the harvest. The cherries of July give way to peaches, early apples, and the first hops in the Yakima Valley, and the farm stands from Wenatchee to Walla Walla fill up.
August also runs on a clock. It is the last full month of summer, and the calendar knows it: the Perseids peak the second week, the Omak Stampede thunders the same weekend, the Long Beach kite festival fills the sky the third week, and the county fairs build toward the Evergreen State Fair as Labor Day closes the season. Come now, because September changes everything.
Paradise gets the postcards, but August belongs to Sunrise, the higher and later side of the mountain that spends July under snow. By the first week the meadows there run gold and purple, and the trails to Mount Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain open into the best alpine walking in the state. Go on a weekday and arrive before nine, because the lots fill fast. If the valleys are smoky, this is your clean air: the higher you climb, the better the sky.
The North Cascades Highway is fully open and every trailhead along it is reachable. Maple Pass, Cascade Pass, and the Blue Lake trail hit their stride in August once the last snow leaves the switchbacks. Diablo Lake glows its impossible turquoise under full sun, and the huckleberries come ripe along the higher trails through the month. This is the corridor to drive when the lowlands bake or smoke over, with cool elevation and water the whole way.
This is Lake Chelan’s month. The water holds its heat through Labor Day, the south shore rents anything that floats, and Slidewaters runs full tilt. Off the water, the orchards and farm stands turn over from cherries to peaches and the first apples, and the benchland wineries above the lake pour in the afternoon sun. Heat and occasional smoke are the price of admission, so start early, swim midday, and save the tasting room for the shade of late afternoon.
When the interior hits triple digits and the smoke settles in, the coast is the release valve: foggy mornings, steady wind, and water cold enough to remind you it is the Pacific. Long Beach runs its kite festival the third week of August, filling twenty eight miles of drivable sand with color, and Westport keeps the charter boats and the fish and chips running all month. Bring a jacket even in August, because the coast plays by its own thermostat.
The year’s best meteor shower peaks on warm August nights. Head east of the Cascades, away from city light, for the clearest view.
One of the country’s biggest rodeos, paired with the famous and controversial Suicide Race down to the Okanogan River.
Learn More →A long running street festival with juried art, live music, and food filling the historic downtown.
One of the largest kite festivals in the world fills the sky over the peninsula’s drivable sand for a full week.
Learn More →The Makah Tribe’s celebration of culture and community at the northwestern tip of the state, with canoe races, dancing, and a salmon bake.
The classic end of summer county fair: livestock, carnival rides, grandstand shows, and fair food.
Learn More →Four days of youth livestock showing, rodeo, and carnival rides on the Kitsap Peninsula.
August is the peak of cruise season, with weekly cruise nights and weekend shows in nearly every county. Check the statewide calendar before you go.
Learn More →Conditions
August is the peak of Washington’s hiking season. The high country that was snowed in through July is finally open and the alpine is at its best. The trade is heat in the lowlands and wildfire smoke that can roll in fast, so check air quality and fire closures before you drive.
Maple Pass, Cascade Pass, and Blue Lake are clear and at their peak. Highway 20 access is fully open.
The Alpine Lakes are accessible and the Enchantments core is in full color (permit only). Start early for trailhead parking.
Hurricane Ridge and the high traverses are snow free. Coastal and rainforest trails are dry and easy.
The Sunrise and Paradise meadows are at peak bloom. Lots fill before nine on weekends.
Open but hot and dry. Start at dawn, carry extra water, and check for active fire closures before you go.
Cool, often foggy, and reliable when the interior bakes. A good smoke season fallback.
Peak season, so nearly everything is running.
My pick for August is the one thing you have to earn: a coffee can of wild huckleberries. By the second week the bushes ripen along the higher trails of the Cascades, from Mount Adams to Mount Spokane, and there is nothing like them, smaller and wilder and sharper than any blueberry you will buy. Pack a container, take the forest road past the last trailhead, and slow down. While you are out there, swing through the valley on the way home, because August is when the orchards turn over to peaches and the first apples, and the farm stands from Wenatchee to the Yakima Valley are heavy with them. Pick your own up high, buy a flat down low, and you will taste the whole month in an afternoon.
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY 2.0
Three ways to sleep close to the action this month: out on the warm water, at the foot of the mountain, or where the coast keeps you cool.
Base yourself on the water. A Lake Chelan cabin puts you steps from the swimming and minutes from the benchland wineries, the best high summer trip in the state.
Explore StaysStay in Packwood or Ashford to reach Sunrise and Paradise at dawn before the lots fill. Cool nights, easy mornings, and the mountain out your window.
Explore StaysWhen the heat breaks you, the peninsula is the escape: beach cottages, steady wind, and the kite festival in the third week. Bring layers.
Explore StaysYes, with one caveat. It is peak summer with the high country at its best and the lakes at their warmest, but it is also wildfire season, so plan around air quality.
Hot and dry east of the Cascades, often in the 90s, and warm and pleasant in the west in the 70s to low 80s. The coast stays cool and breezy in the 60s, with very little rain anywhere.
It can be. August is wildfire season, and smoke from regional fires can settle into the eastern valleys for days. Check air quality before you travel and favor the coast or high elevations when it is bad.
The Perseid meteor shower, the Omak Stampede, the Long Beach kite festival, the Anacortes Arts Festival, and the county fairs building toward the Evergreen State Fair.
Yes. All three are fully open and at their peak, including the high country like Sunrise at Mount Rainier and the North Cascades Highway that open late in the season.
Lake Chelan, Lake Wenatchee, and the Methow River spots on the east side are warmest. In the west, Lake Sammamish and the Puget Sound beaches are swimmable but cooler.
