Yakima: Trails, Culture and Events

When searching for hotels in Yakima, it helps to first determine the reason for your stay. Key themes include trails and green spaces, regional history, and events. The trails, natural areas and cultural offerings differ in their routes, connections to the landscape and historical character. This lets you plan your trip around what you would like to do in Yakima and the surrounding region.

Trails and Nature in Yakima

The 20-mile Yakima Greenway is a trail for cyclists and pedestrians that connects Union Gap, Yakima, Selah and Naches. Accessible paved paths provide access to rivers, wetlands, wildlife habitats and open landscapes. It offers both connections between several communities and access to a variety of natural areas.

The Plath Pathway runs along the Naches River between Yakima and Naches. The Noel Pathway follows the Yakima River and connects the Yakima Greenway Visitor Center with the Yakima Area Arboretum. The two trails can be distinguished by their river routes and connections: Yakima and Naches are the key reference points for the Plath Pathway, while the Noel Pathway links the visitor center with the arboretum.

Sarg Hubbard Park features a scenic Reflection Pond, a playground and easy access to the Yakima Greenway trail. The Yakima Area Arboretum covers 46 acres and includes display gardens, tree collections and natural areas. It offers nature walks and horticulture classes. Its gardens, collections and natural areas give the arboretum a different focus from the trails along the rivers.

Another way to explore the landscape is the Cowiche Canyon Trail, six miles northwest of downtown Yakima. The trail is 2.9 miles long, has a compacted gravel surface and includes nine creek crossings. It also provides access to riparian vegetation and wildlife. Its length and creek crossings set it apart from the 20-mile Greenway network.

History, Museums and Culture

The Yakima Valley Museum has more than 48,000 artifacts about the people who have lived in the Yakima Valley over the years. Its holdings also include 2,640 geological exhibits from around the world, including 464 Ellensburg Blue Agates. Children’s Underground at the museum offers hands-on activities as well as space to explore and play freely. The museum is also home to the Sundquist Research Library and Archives, a regional archive and collection on local history.

The Capitol Theatre opened as the Mercy Theatre in 1920 and was renamed the Capitol Theatre in 1921. It hosts local ensembles and offers community events as well as performances by guest artists and touring productions. The Yakima Valley Trolleys are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an authentic, fully original electric interurban railway dating from the turn of the 20th century. Approximately five miles of historic tracks connect Yakima and Selah.

Millennium Plaza brings together several cultural points of reference. It features a ring of colored light inspired by the rhythm and movement of the friendship dance at Yakama powwows. The plaza also recognizes the importance of water to the people of Yakima. Its themes range from the Yakima River and irrigation from the mountains to the valley’s vegetation, wildlife and orchards.

Events at State Fair Park

State Fair Park serves as an event center year-round, not just during the annual fair. The site hosted Washington State’s first fair in 1892; its major events include the annual Central Washington State Fair. Between fairs, the venue also hosts events such as auto races, craft fairs, home and garden shows, car shows, concerts, cultural festivals and sporting events. If you are traveling for a particular event, check its date for your travel period before choosing a hotel.

Discover more destinations: Toppenish, Union Gap, Sunnyside, Selah, Zillah, Wapato, Outlook

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