Celebrating a special place

Barn Beach Reserve is the home of the Wenatchee River Institute, Icicle Arts, and the Upper Valley Museum at Leavenworth, on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. It is owned and operated by the Wenatchee River Institute. The Reserve and an adjacent city park combine to create a protected greenbelt of more than 50 acres of mature, streamside forest that includes Blackbird Island, a popular stop on Audubon's Great Washington Birding Trail.

"Wenatchee River Institute" is the new name for what has previously been called Barn Beach Trust and Barn Beach Nature Center. The Institute's board of directors adopted this new name to more accurately reflect its function as an educational organization and the organization's geographic coverage which includes the greater Wenatchee Valley. The Institute's Mission is to promote the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the greater Wenatchee Valley through stewardship bridging environment, arts and cultural history. Learn more about our name change by reading this front page newsletter story.

Consider becoming a WENATCHEE NATURALIST! We are sponsoring an exciting opportunity for people to explore the wonder-filled Wenatchee Valley and learn about its extraordinary natural diversity from experts who know it best. Learn about the program and how you can participate by clicking the program's name.

Check out this video about Wenatchee River Institute's educational programming for school children at Barn Beach Reserve.

The Reserve's partner organizations feature exhibits and programming that connect science and nature, the arts, and cultural history in the Greater Wenatchee Valley.