Road trip: 24 hours exploring downtown Ellensburg

Editor’s note: Travel isn’t always easy. Time, money and itineraries can be tricky to juggle. This Explore series focuses on road trips that can be done in a day or include an overnight stay. Each will take you on small adventures to places you might have overlooked or missed the last time you drove through.

This week we take a trip to Ellensburg, using an itinerary put together by Yakima Herald-Republic photo editor and Texpat Washingtonian Emree Weaver.

Ellensburg is in Kittitas County, located off Interstate 90. It’s approximately 35 miles north of Yakima and home to Central Washington University, the Ellensburg Rodeo and Winegar’s homemade ice cream.

The proximity of Ellensburg makes it ideal for a day trip, but to fully appreciate Ellensburg and the surrounding area, one should consider an overnight stay and spend 24 hours in the quaint but bustling downtown area.

There are two easy and very different routes into Ellensburg from the Yakima area. The first is Interstate 82, which offers some great views of the shrub steppe and the Yakima Training Center. If you’re lucky, you might see military tanks, vehicles or helicopters as you pass by.

The second route is more scenic on State Route 821, also known as the Yakima Canyon Road. Take your time and enjoy the views of local flora and fauna along the Yakima River.

Make lunch plans at 1201 Bagels, 1201 S. Canyon Road, upon your arrival into Ellensburg. The small drive-thru is built out of a storage container and has drive-thru and walk-up service. 1201 Bagels serves bagels and spreads as well as salads, wraps and sides.

The menu has breakfast and lunch options, served from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Each menu has sandwiches served on your choice of bagel.

Plain, jalapeno and blueberry bagels are just some of the options to choose from for a breakfast sandwich, salmon bennie or steak and egg sandwich.

If lunch is what you’re looking for, try the lox sandwich on an onion bagel, or create your own deli sandwich.

After lunch, make your way to downtown Ellensburg with a stop at Dick and Jane’s Spot, on the corner of First Avenue and Pearl Street.

Dick and Jane’s Spot is a private home and art site. Respect the fences while viewing the art-filled yards. Reflectors and bottle caps adorn the fences and posts, creating colorful privacy barriers. The art is a collaboration involving the artist Jane Orleman; her husband the late Dick Elliott, who designed the artwork on the top of the Yakima Valley SunDome; and their friends.

Shopping downtown

There are plenty of shops to choose from in the downtown Ellensburg area, easily accessible by walking.

Old Skool’s, 308 N. Main St., is a must for all vinyl record collectors and vintage apparel hounds. Hours are 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 5-9 p.m. Sunday.

The front of Old Skool’s features a hip, black-and-white checker tiled floor and offers a variety of incense, posters, CDs, DVDs and other unique finds.

Make sure to chat with Old Skool’s owner Carol Cox. Sweet and knowledgeable, Cox easily leads the way through aisles full of records, different music genres.

The back room of Old Skool’s features a stage and setup for open mic nights every Sunday as well as hosts traveling and local acts any day of the week. Check their events on Facebook for the most up-to-date information. It’s all ages venue and all types of musical acts make it a stop on their tours.

Next, take a stroll over to Pearl Street Books and Gifts, 421 N. Pearl St. The store hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sunday.

Located in the 1888 Building, Pearl Street Books and Gifts is an independent bookstore and has plenty to offer.

Visitors can find fiction, nonfiction and children’s books. It also offers unique greeting cards, work by local photographers and artists, and Polish pottery.

If you fancy yourself a green thumb, make your way to The Botany Shop at 209 W. Third Ave.

The Botany Shop offers plants and botanical goods, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday.

April Rohrbach, owner and founder of The Botany Shop, has put together an assortment of indoor plants for varying degrees of plant expertise, and inventory is updated several times a month. Rohrbach’s passion is obvious as she shares her wisdom with locals and college students alike.

Wandering the rows of plants, admiring the shelves covered in green, shoppers can find succulents, cacti, carnivorous plants and even pineapples.

The Botany Shop even offers a replanting station, macrame hangers and plenty of empty pots to purchase.

Need a trendy outfit for an upcoming holiday party or your night out in Ellensburg? Don’t miss Claim Clothing, 315 N. Pearl St.

The trendy fashion store is packed with women’s clothing to make any wardrobe stylish.

Claim Clothing’s hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.

Fresh cold air and brisk steps call for a pick-me-up, and D&M Coffee has a location in downtown Ellensburg with just what you need.

Located at 325 N. Pearl St., D&M Coffee Downtown is open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. every day. The corner store is perfectly located for watching downtown life while sipping on hot and iced coffee drinks, teas, chai and specialty Red Bull drinks. The store also has baked goods and other snacks.

D&M Coffee Downtown also offers an assortment of coffee beans, drinkware and merchandise to take home with you.

An overnight stay

Time to put your feet up and rest before a night out. Check into the Hotel Windrow, located at the north end of downtown Ellensburg.

Hotel Windrow, 502 N. Main St, is a boutique hotel that opened its doors in 2019. It shares a wall and space with the historic Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks building. Exposed brick from the B.P.O.E. building is visible from the hotel lobby, mezzanine stairway and in two historical double queen rooms.

The hotel is conveniently located near restaurants and night spots for drinks. Reservations in the 59-room hotel can be made at hotelwindrow.com.

Just a block away is the Ellensburg Pasta Company at 600 N. Main St. The restaurant is inside an old car service station, and a black and white picture behind the host counter shows where old fuel pumps in front of the building used to be.

Ellensburg Pasta Company’s hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and closed Sunday. The lunch and dinner menus have plenty to choose from: appetizers, soups, salads, red and white pasta sauces, entrées, drinks and desserts.

There are fresh sheet menus to order from, featuring monthly food and drink specials.

Popular among Ellensburg locals and college students, try an order of steak gorgonzola or the four-cheese ziti and add the Italian sausage. Both dishes are great on their own or worth sharing with someone else.

Save room for dessert. Trust Explore, the crème brûlée is worth it.

Before calling it a night, make your way to The Mule Cocktail Bar, 119 E. Fourth Ave. The Mule’s hours are 3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 3-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

The menu features appetizers, signature cocktails and mules, like the Moscow Mule, of which the bar is named for. The Moscow Mule is made with vodka, ginger beer and lime and happens to be the favorite drink of owner, Sarah Beauchamp.

Brunch and a hike

Brunch is a must on weekends and Ellensburg has plenty of options.

Like most everything in downtown Ellensburg, The Early Bird Eatery, 412 N. Main St., is within walking distance from the Hotel Windrow and features a menu full of sweet and savory items.

Open from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. seven days a week, The Early Bird Eatery has something for everyone. Shareables like the breakfast poutine, made of jojos, sausage gravy made from scratch, bacon, cheese and sunny side up eggs, are sure to please any empty stomach.

Brunch classics like biscuits and gravy and unique plates like a morning salad, featuring mixed greens, house potatoes, bacon, scrambled eggs, avocado and more, will fuel visitors for the trip home.

It’s easy to overindulge while eating a wholesome meal, and if you need to walk off brunch before your way back to Yakima, make one last stop in Ellensburg at Irene Rinehart Riverfront Park.

The park is at 1081 Umptanum Road, nestled between the Yakima River and I-90.

The road to Carey Lakes/People’s Pond is closed in the winter, but the parking lot by the boat launch on the south end is open. From this parking lot, visitors can walk the almost 2-mile trail that follows the Yakima River and meanders through trees and brush.

Be on the lookout for the signs along the trail that tell the story of “The Trickster” coyote and how he became cunning. The “Trail Tail” signs are sponsored by the Ellensburg Morning Rotary Club.

For a longer walk, the trail goes past Carey Lakes and under I-90 to wind over to Rotary Park, another parking option.