PLAN A TRIP TO YAKIMA

Freehand Cellars winery with a view.

Viewpoint from Freehand Cellars.

Planning a trip to the Yakima Valley opens many possibilities for an exciting vacation itinerary. Your trip will inevitable involve visiting a Yakima winery (skip to our recommendations) or brewery, but also may include a river float, electric bike tour, a mountain hike, a Yakima wine tour, a U-Pick fruit farm visit, or even a visit to the spa. However, above all - we believe your visit should involve tasting your way through Yakima wineries and learning about Yakima Valley wines.

TASTING YOUR WAY THROUGH YAKIMA

Because we are winery, we are going to share a few of our favorite Yakima wineries that we think you should add to your Yakima wine itinerary. We suggest making your visit to Yakima no shorter than 3 days, two nights. This allows time to enjoy what Yakima and the surrounding area has to offer.

Freehand Cellars view of Mount Adams

Freehand Cellars’ view of Mount Adams.

Planning your Yakima visit.

A visit to Yakima Valley presents a wealth of opportunities.

Start your first day by arriving in Yakima around 2pm, visit one Yakima winery (we recommend Gilbert Cellars) and then enjoy dinner in Yakima City. Get settled and ready to visit many Yakima wineries the next day. The second day in Yakima we advice venturing out and exploring. Before your wine tasting experience, the morning is great for picking fruit at a near by “U-Pick” farm, driving 45 minutes north to some of Washingtons best hikes, or whatever activity that gets your blood pumping (bike rentals, river floating, water park surfing, or you-name-it)! The goal is to be done and ready to explore more Yakima wineries by 12pm. After your outdoor adventures, we recommend starting (or ending) your wine tasting itinerary at Freehand Cellars (that’s us!). Keep in mind, most Yakima wineries close at 5pm – so, your wine tasting experience should start when wineries open (some do open at 11am, be sure to check). For your second day, we would advise visiting 2-3 wineries and landing in Yakima for a nice dinner. For Yakima’s most popular restaurants and limited seating (**marked with asterisk below), you may consider making a reservation to ensure that you will get a table. However, walk-ins are always welcome at most restaurants – especially if you are an early eater. We recommend ending the night at a local brewery or distallarium. The third day in Yakima should involve getting a giant breakfast burrito, a visit to a “U-Pick” farm (if you haven’t gone yet), and a nice walk in the Yakima Arboretum. Then, wrap your day up with one last visit to a Yakima winery opening at 11am or 12pm.

Yakima map of businesses

Yakima wineries and it’s surrounding area. Click on map to view its entirety.

BEST YAKIMA WINERIES

We have compiled a list of the Yakima wineries that we recommend that you visit while here. There are many great wineries in Yakima, but these are some that make the top of our list. All distances are based on proximity to Yakima.

First Cluster (less than 10 minutes away):

Second Cluster (less than 20 minutes away):

Third Cluster (around 40 minutes away):

Fourth Cluster (around 50 minutes away):

Further Away but worthwhile (a little over 1 hour away):

Recommended Breweries

Out of all breweries in the area, these three stand out:

Recommended Yakima Restaurants

Breakfast/Brunch

Lunch/Dinner

Cheers, and we hope to see you here soon.