Welcome to Yakima!
Located in Central Washington, the Yakima Valley is rich in agriculture and a wide variety of activities. The conference we have prepared for you is also rich in content from traditional literature to integration of technologies to preparing ourselves for meeting the challenges of the Common Core Standards. We hope that you will find the conference enough to fill your time here, but also hope that you will find some extra time at the end of conference to enjoy the Yakima Valley. For more information please visit The Yakima Valley Visitor’s Bureauhttp://www.visityakima.com/.
Yakima Greenway – bring your bike or your walking shoes for a trek on the nearby Yakima Greenway. It’s 10 miles of paved walkway take you along the Yakima River, three parks, two fishing lakes, and four river access landings along with protected and natural areas. Free and open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. http://yakimagreenway.org
Yakima Arboretum – if strolling through a park like setting is more to your liking, then the Yakima Arboretum is the place to visit. Established nearly 50 years ago, the Yakima Area Arboretum is a living museum of over 1000 specimens of trees, grasses and shrubs on 46 acres of land adjacent to the Yakima Greenway.http://www.ahtrees.org
If Museums are of interest, there is no shortage! The valley is home to nine different museums, including the Yakima Valley Museum and Children’s Underground Museum http://yakimavalleymuseum.org/ (and a working soda fountain) which is located just a few minutes drive from downtown Yakima. Toppenish is home to the Yakima Nation Cultural Center http://www.yakamamuseum.com/
and to the famed Toppenish Mural Gallery, 70 outdoor painted murals.http://www.toppenish.net/. For more information on additional museums visithttp://visityakima.com/newSite/yakima-valley-museums.asp
Washington Wine Country – the premier wine grape growing area in the state, the Yakima Valley boasts 50 wineries, many within 30 miles of Yakima. Make the quick drive to Prosser after the close of conference on Saturday to ‘Catch the Crush’ . http://visityakima.com/newSite/yakima-valley-event-detail.asp?eventID=68
Shopping – Valley Mall in Union Gap is one of the major shopping centers in the area. Macys, Kohls and Sears frame the mall with 55 specialty shops. Brand new and adjacent to the mall is Cabela’s Outpost, the first of their new, smaller store, which is opening October 4.
We look forward to hosting you in Yakima in October. It is always a beautiful time of year as the leaves start to turn. Remember that you will be returning here again next year so if you can’t fit some of these into your schedule now you can plan ahead! See you soon!
