Ohme Gardens Opens For Season With Old Lodge To Be Rebuilt

Amid Monday's blustery weather, Ohme Gardens quietly reopened for the season.

The one-of-a-kind, 40-acre attraction was built in the early 1930s and has remained a prominent feature and a popular draw for tourists in the Wenatchee Valley for almost a century.

Chelan County Economic Services Director, Ron Cridlebaugh, says there will soon be some construction happening at the Gardens, since one its original buildings recently collapsed.

"We knew the Ox Yoke Lodge was in pretty tough shape since it had a lot of rotted timber. Back in October, the wind was blowing pretty hard and one of the cables that was being used to secure that building came loose and the building actually just very nicely laid itself down on the ground."

Cridlebaugh says every effort will be made to return the Ox Yoke structure to its original appearance.

"We've salvaged as much of the original lumber as we can and we're going to get some grant money and will be looking to rebuild that structure using as much of the existing lumber and poles as possible to try and recapture the feel of that structure."

There's no timetable for when construction on a new Ox Yoke Lodge might begin but Chelan County Commissioner Kevin Overbay says he hopes it might be accomplished sometime later this year.

Ohme Gardens is open daily to the public and also hosts a variety of special and private events annually.

Its season usually runs through the first month of fall.

To find out more about the Gardens, click here.