This Often-overlooked U.S. Destination Has 300 Days of Sunshine a Year—and It’s One of the Best Places for Craft Beer in the Country

Tucked away in south-central Washington, about 145 miles southeast of Seattle, the Yakima Valley stretches throughout fertile farmland framed by rolling hills, basalt ridges, and the winding Yakima River. Anchored by the town of Yakima and encompassing cities like Sunnyside, Zillah, and Selah, the area is finest referred to as the nation’s hop capital, producing greater than 70 p.c of U.S. hops. It’s additionally a playground for food and drinks lovers, with farm-to-glass breweries and a wealthy Mexican culinary scene. Right here’s the place to sip, style, and discover the outside to take advantage of this often-overlooked area.

Increase a glass to native brews.

Cultivating hops since 1872, the Yakima Valley is a cornerstone of the craft beer scene. For beer lovers, it is a uncommon likelihood to expertise farm-to-glass brews and hint your favourite beers again to their origins.

Bale Breaker Brewing Firm

Bale Breaker brings 4 generations of hop-farming experience straight from the fields to your glass. The household’s hop-growing journey started in 1932 with the homeowners’ great-grandparents, and right now, their hops come from two household farms. The Yakima taproom sits proper on certainly one of them, the Loftus Ranches in Moxee, and options 16 faucets inside, plus meals vehicles, hearth pits, outside seating, and garden video games exterior. Strive Area 41, a pale ale named for a parcel of household land, or the Topcutter IPA, a flagship West Coast–fashion brew bursting with pine, grapefruit, and floral notes from Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops, ending clear and dry.

Single Hill Brewing

Based in 2018, Single Hill Brewing sits within the coronary heart of downtown Yakima. The taproom is designed to be a neighborhood hub, internet hosting weekly bingo, group trivia, and year-round occasions celebrating Yakima’s craft beer tradition. Right here, 24 faucets function a variety of types, from hoppy and light-weight to bitter, darkish, and experimental, with 5 core beers at all times on provide. Their Outcross collection showcases small-batch experiments and hop genetics. Don’t miss Shinrin-Yoku, a crisp and delicate Japanese-style rice lager, or the ever-popular Sightglass IPA, constructed on a pilsner malt base with aromas of berry and key lime.

Cowiche Creek Brewing Firm

Set in Cowiche, simply west of downtown Yakima, Cowiche Creek Brewing Firm is run by third-generation central Washington farmers who constructed a lot of the brewery themselves and develop their very own hops and barley. Their beers concentrate on hops as a substitute of malt, delivering fragrant, citrusy, piney, and tropical notes. Begin with the Tiny Canine Session IPA, which is dry, crisp, and bursting with brilliant citrus and pine. For one thing bolder, go for Tynamite, a hazy, 6.2 p.c ABV IPA with clear, juicy citrus notes.

Comply with the Taco and Tamale Path.

The Hispanic neighborhood makes up half of Yakima County’s inhabitants, a legacy that started when laborers from Mexico have been introduced in throughout World Struggle II to fill farm jobs. Many stayed, placing down roots that grew into multigenerational farming households who proceed to form the area’s dynamic meals scene. To discover the area’s standout Mexican delicacies, observe the Yakima Valley Taco and Tamale Path, which highlights 27 family-owned spots stretching from Selah within the north to Benton Metropolis within the south.

Los Hernández Tamales

 Simply south of Yakima in Union Hole, James Beard award-winning Los Hernández Tamales has been devoted to custom and handcrafted tamales since 1990. Constituted of household recipes, their masa is ready in home from corn they dry and mill themselves, a key motive why they’re so beloved. Locals flock for the year-round favorites like hen and pork, and the seasonal asparagus and pepper jack tamales, accessible April via June, typically draw strains out the door. The standard, no-frills setup solely provides to the attraction, letting the meals take heart stage.

JJ’s Birrieria & Antojitos

Household-run favourite JJ’s Birrieria & Antojitos has grown to 3 places plus a meals truck throughout the Yakima Valley. True to its title, the highlight is on birria tacos with savory beef. Birria is a conventional stew from Jalisco, slow-cooked till tender and wealthy. JJ’s can be identified for inventive twists on classics. The Pizzadilla layers cheese, birria, onion, and cilantro between three flour tortillas and is sliced into eight shareable items. The birria ramen is a playful mash-up the place ramen noodles swim in consomé and birria, completed with onion and cilantro.

Javi’s Hen & Churros

Household-owned and impressed by each Southern California and Mexican flavors, Javi’s Hen & Churros makes the whole lot recent day by day, from the fan-favorite birria to the signature smoky, flame-grilled hen to the Baja-style fish tacos. Relating to dessert, the deep-fried, cinnamon-encrusted churros steal the present, served with quite a lot of dips, excellent for ending your meal on a candy word.

Discover the Valley’s pure playground.

The Yakima Valley’s panorama helps a variety of year-round outside actions, together with fly fishing, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, and horseback driving, making it a high-desert playground for outside lovers.

Cowiche Canyon Conservancy Trails

The Cowiche Canyon Conservancy manages greater than 7,000 acres of protected land and maintains over 60 miles of trails fitted to year-round exploration. Hike, stroll, run, or bike within the hotter months, and when snow blankets the realm, snowshoeing and cross-country snowboarding turn into fashionable picks. You’ll discover trails for each tempo, starting from flat gravel paths to steeper climbs, sweeping ridgeline routes, and peaceable canyon-floor walks. 

For a extra leisurely outing, head for the Cowiche Canyon Path, an almost six-mile, out-and-back, principally flat, and unpaved route that follows a former railroad alongside Cowiche Creek, the place greenery meets dramatic basalt cliffs and layers of uncovered volcanic rock. 

For extra of a problem, head to Snow Mountain Ranch. As soon as a working cattle ranch, this 2,000-acre protect options about 14 miles of interconnected trails with greater than 1,000 toes of elevation acquire. As a biodiversity sizzling spot, it’s dwelling to some 200 plant species, 125 forms of birds and wildlife, and 64 butterfly species. Within the spring, the meadows burst with wildflowers, whereas oaks, aspens, and cottonwoods rework into vivid shades of yellow, purple, and orange come fall.

Yakima River Canyon

Stretching 27 miles between Ellensburg and Yakima, the Yakima River holds the coveted title of a Blue Ribbon river, acknowledged for its distinctive water high quality and prime fishing, particularly for rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and smallmouth bass. Whereas the waters are fishable year-round, March via October marks the prime fly-fishing season, with spring and fall being particularly productive.

The basalt cliffs, shrub-steppe, and riparian habitats of the Yakima River Canyon make this the densest nesting space for raptors in Washington, sheltering red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, American kestrels, and each golden and bald eagles. Past wildlife watching, rafting, and tenting, you possibly can take within the canyon’s hanging surroundings on a relaxed three-hour guided Eco-Tour with Crimson’s Fly Store, drifting previous rugged cliffs and desert hills whereas studying in regards to the river’s formation.