Ellensburg

Ellensburg is a city of 19,001 in the North Cascades region of Washington State.

Iconic Barge Hall at Central Washington University

Get in

Ellensburg is located at the junction of Interstates 90 and 82, approximately 110 miles east of Seattle and 170 miles west of Spokane. Road is the only practical way in, there is no air or rail service. Greyhound has four departures daily to Seattle from a stop at the western edge of town (see below).

• Interstate 90 (I-90) is located south of town. Ellensburg is accessed from Exits #106 (W. University Way & Thorp Hwy) and 109 (S Canyon Rd). Located 110mi/165km (1hr38min) east of Seattle and 170mi/272km (2hr44min) west of Spokane.
• Interstate 82 (I-82) begins southeast of Ellensburg at Exit 110 from I-90. I-82 goes southeast through Yakima (36mi/57.5km), Toppenish, Sunnyside, Tri-Cities (113mi/181km) and down into Hermiston, Oregon (142mi/227km) to Interstate 84. From I-84, I-82 starts from Exit #179.
• US-Hwy 97 goes another 160mi/256km (3hr) north to Omak and another 48mi/77km (:45min) from Omak to Osoyoos, BC by Lake Osoyoos, just over the U.S./Canadian border. From I-90, access to US Hwy 97 northbound is off of Exit #106 and the first left (north) from the eastside of the freeway. Going southbound, US-97 follows I-82 to Union Gap just to just south of Yakima where it branches off again on a separate road to Toppenish and south to Biggs Junction, Oregon (Exit #104 along Interstate 84 in Oregon).

By bus

• 🌍 Greyhound, (bus stop) Love's Truck Stop @ 1512 US Hwy 97 (Hwy 97 & University Dr, Off of Exit #106 along I-90), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Travels primarily on Interstate 90 (Seattle,Ellensburg, Moses Lake and Spokane) and another branch continues east on Interstate 82 (Ellensburg, Yakima, Sunnyside, Pasco (in Tri-Cities), Stanford OR at I-84). 
• 🌍 Travel Washington Apple Line (Operated by Northwest trailways), (bus stop) Love's Truck Stop @ 1512 US Hwy 97 (Same stop as Greyhound.), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. goes north from Ellensburg to Omak via Quincy, Pateros, Wenatchee, Okanogan, etc. twice daily along US Hwy 97. See schedules. 
• 🌍 BellAir Airporter, (bus stop) Starbucks CWU @ 908 E 10th (prior reservations only), ☎ [phone]. Goes from Sea-Tac to Cle Elum, Ellensburg & Yakima. They NO longer stop at the Red Lion Inn (formerly Quality Inn) on request by the hotel management. 
• Grant County Transit Authority Rt #60 (GTA), (bus stops) Central Washington University (E 11th & Maple); Fred Meyer (201 S Water St), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Thrice daily trip to Moses Lake through George, Quincy and Ephrata along I-90/SR-281/SR-28. Check schedules. $3 per boarding. (updated Nov 2017)
• 🌍 Yakima-Ellensburg Commuter (Yakima Transit Rt#11), (bus stops)11th Ave & N Maple St, Safeway, Super One Foods, Golden Dragon Restaurant, ☎ [phone]. Commuter bus between Ellensburg and Yakima funded by Central Washington University and Yakima Transit. 

Get around

The city is small enough to walk on foot in less than an hour.

By bus

Central Transit operates local city buses/shuttles between downtown and Central Washington University and the surrounding areas around town. The Orange Route (Rt #5) connects the bus station at Love's Truck bus stop to town. Bus service is funded by the City of Ellensburg, Hopesource and Central Washington State University.

See

Kittitas County Historical Museum

• 🌍 Central Washington University, 400 E. University Way, ☎ [phone]. The ten thousand undergraduates of CWU very nearly outnumber all the other residents of Ellensburg. 
• 🌍 Kittitas County Historical Museum, 114 E 3rd Ave (E 3rd & Pine next to post office), ☎ [phone]. Located in the historic Cadwell Building in beautiful downtown Ellensburg and consisting of over 9,000 square feet of display space, the Kittitas County Historical Museum seek to collect and preserve the history and heritage of Kittitas County. 
• 🌍 Clymer Museum & Gallery, 416 N Pearl St (Along N Pearl St, closer to 5th.), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. M-F 11AM-5PM, Sa 11AM-3PM. Ellensburg's art museum. (updated Apr 2015)
• 🌍 Olmstead Place State Park, 921 N Ferguson Rd (4 miles southeast of downtown along Kittitas Hwy.). Dawn-dusk. Located 4.5mi southeast of town, this 217 acre state park has farm houses, barns and other outbuilding functioning as a museum of sorts depicting pioneer farm life in the 19th century.. (updated Apr 2015)
• 🌍 Dick and Jane's Spot, 101 N Pearl St (NW of 1st & Pearl St, across from the fire dept.). A private home where the entire house and yard are covered in art. Entry is not allowed, but the house is completely visible from outside the fence. free. (updated Apr 2015)
• 🌍 Gallery One Visual Arts Center, 408 N Pearl St, ☎ [phone]. Mon-Fri 11 AM - 5 PM, Sat 10 AM - 4 PM, Sun 12 PM - 4 PM. Gallery One Visual Arts Center is dedicated to the creation, exhibition and appreciation of visual arts in Central Washington. (updated Feb 2018)

Do

• 🌍 Wild Goose Casino, 1600 Currier St (I-90 exit 106, along W University Way going into town.), ☎ [phone]. W-Su. Has a sport bar and grill and happy hour 3-6PM. (updated Apr 2015)
• 🌍 Ellensburg Rodeo, toll-free: [phone]. Held every Labor Day weekend (usually the first week of September), the Ellensburg Rodeo has been called one of America’s top 25 rodeos. Within the Northwest, it is second in size only to the Calgary Stampede, in Calgary, Alberta. Established in 1923, it regularly attracts more than 600 contestants 16-36$. (updated Feb 2017)
• Jazz in the Valley. Annually, last weekend of July. Jazz in the Valley is a three-day festival with over 23 jazz artists in 10 intimate venues, all within walking distance in Historic Downtown. (updated Feb 2018)

Buy

Eat

• 🌍 Ellensburg Pasta Company (EPC), 600 N Main St, ☎ [phone]. Mon-Sat 11 AM - 9 PM. Family-friendly Italian cafe with local beer & wines, plus gluten-free options, in comfy digs. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 El Caporal II, 201 W University Way, ☎ [phone]. Daily 11 AM - 10 PM. Laid-back Mexican outfit featuring margaritas and classic eats such as tacos and enchiladas. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 The Tav, 117 W 4th Ave, ☎ [phone]. Daily 11 AM - 2 AM. Down-home watering hole offering American pub grub, tap brews, simple cocktails, pool & pinball. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 Wing Central, 1801 N Walnut St #2, ☎ [phone]. Mon-Sat 11 AM - 10 PM, Sun 11 AM - 9 PM. Lively hangout for sports on flat-screen TVs, plus chicken wings, burgers & 100+ beer choices. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 The Palace Cafe (The Palace), 323 N Main St, ☎ [phone]. Mon-Thu 6 AM - 9 PM, Fri-Sat 6 AM - 10 PM, Sun 7 AM - 9 PM. Storied cafe serving American eats amid tin ceilings & wainscoting in a 1908 brick storefront. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 Bleachers, 730 E University Way, ☎ [phone]. Sun-Thu 11 AM - 9 PM, Fri-Sat 11 AM - 11 PM. Sports bar and grill close to CWU campus. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 Campus U-Tote-Em, 810 E University Way, ☎ [phone]. Sat-Thu 7 AM - 9 PM, Fri 7 AM - 9:30 PM. No-frills, old-school nook with counter service for signature burgers, sandwiches, fries & shakes. (updated Feb 2018)

Drink

• D&M Coffee, (Headquarters & roasting plant) 215 W 3rd, ☎ [phone]. Locally roasted coffee in three locations locally. 

• D&M Coffee Downtown, 301 N. Pine, ☎ [phone]. Popular hangout in the middle of downtown, and the locally-roasted coffee is tasty indeed. 
• D&M Coffee Uptown, 416 N. Main St, ☎ +1 509. Popular hangout for uptown, and the locally-roasted coffee is tasty indeed. 
• D&M Coffee Drive-Thru, 204 S Water St, ☎ [phone]. A small hangout in the SW edge of town for locally-roasted coffee is tasty indeed. 

• 🌍 Iron Horse Brewery, 412 N Main St (Along N Main St between W 4th & 5th Ave), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Su 1-7PM, M-W 4-9PM, Th 2-9PM, F-Sa 1-9PM. Small microbrewery and pub in downtown Ellensburg. 
• 🌍 The Tav, 117 W 4th Ave, ☎ [phone]. Daily 11 AM - 2 AM. Down-home watering hole offering American pub grub, tap brews, simple cocktails, pool & pinball. (updated Feb 2018)
• 🌍 Whipsaw Brewing, 704 N Wenas St (Along Wenas between W University & 7th Ave, northwestern part of town), ☎ [phone]. Whipsaw Brewing is one of the newer breweries in Ellensburg and has a great lineup of beers. There is indoor and outdoor seating with a few games about in the beer garden. A food truck is there pretty much every day. There are mostly common styles of beer brewed here, with maybe a dozen on tap. This is quite a local place, lots of friendly people that are happy to talk beer. 5$ Pints. (updated Oct 2018)

Sleep

• 🌍 Best Western Lincoln Inn & Suites, 211 W Umptanum Rd, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• 🌍 Quality Inn Hotel & Convention Center, 1700 S Canyon Rd (Along Canyon Rd off of Exit #109.), ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• 🌍 Super 8, 1500 S Canyon Rd, ☎ [phone]. (updated May 2015)

Connect

Telephone

The area code for Ellensburg is 509.

By mail

• 🌍 US Postal Service (USPS), 100 E 3rd Ave (E 3rd Ave & Pearl in downtown), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. M-F 8AM-5PM. The zip code for Ellensburg, Central Washington State University (CWU) and the surrounding areas is 98926 (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 US Postal Service (USPS), 107 Main St, Kittitas WA 98934 (Main St & 1st Ave on southside of town), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. M-F 8:30AM-1PM and 1:30PM-4PM. The zip code for the little area of Kittitas 7 mi (11 km) southeast of Ellensburg is 98934 (updated Dec 2018)

Go next

• Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park/Wanapum Recreational Area, about 30 miles east
• Liberty B.L.M. Recreation Site, an old gold-mining site 22 miles from Ellensburg
• Summit at Snoqualmie - ski resort at Snoqualmie Pass

Routes through Ellensburg

END ←	N  S	→ Selah → Yakima
Seattle ← Cle Elum ←	W  E	→ Moses Lake → Spokane
Wenatchee ← Cashmere ←	N  S	→ Selah → Yakima