Bear Mountain Ranch Golf Course

Bear Mountain Ranch perches above the south shore of Lake Chelan in north-central Washington, and nearly every hole finds a way to frame the water. Architects Robert Yount and Don Barth opened the course in 2005, routing 7,231 yards of par-72 golf across genuinely dramatic topography, closer to a Scottish mountain course in the way it uses elevation than to anything else in the Pacific Northwest. From the longest tees the course plays demanding, but the multiple tee sets keep it welcoming. The par-3 7th is the postcard hole: 233 yards over a pond with Lake Chelan glittering behind the green, one of those holes that gets photographed on the ride up to the tee. The par-4 4th isn't far behind, a 417-yard downhill par 4 with nearly 200 feet of elevation drop to the fairway and the lake again providing the backdrop. PGA Professionals ranked Bear Mountain among the Top 6 Best New Golf Courses in the United States when it opened in 2005, and by 2014 it had settled into the top ten of Washington State rankings. A natural pairing for a Gamble Sands trip and worth the scenic drive up from Wenatchee.