Saddle Mountain is located in central Washington on the Columbia Plateau, about 9 miles South of Vantage.

It is a very large and isolated structure, composed principally of a single ridge running nearly perfectly east/west, about 33 miles long, 6 miles wide, and roughly 2000 feet higher than the surrounding desert. The Columbia River defines it’s western boundary at Sentinel gap, and to the east it gently shrinks in relief and turns southwards until it blends into the surrounding desert and farmland. The north slope is defined by the Crab Creek drainage, and to the south the Wahluke slope runs gently southward to the Columbia 5-10 miles distant. Access to all sites is from the state highway running east-west on the Wahluke slope from Mattawa, then N onto one of three access roads. Saddle is largely owned by the BLM and is maintained as a unimproved recreation area.

The maximum elevation is Wahatis Peak at about 2692 feet, a spectacular and steep minor summit of layered columnar basalt with a road to the top. Unfortunately for RC’ers, the summit is the site of several large microwave antenna farms guaranteed to swamp even the best RX’s. The rest of Saddle is generally about 2000-2300 feet, making the average relief about 1500-1800 feet above the surrounding desert.

It’s immense length and relatively large height in such an isolated and flat region make Saddle visible for miles in every direction, it’s easily recognizable on the southern horizon while traveling I-90 to Moses lake.

It also means that if a puff of wind is blowing anywhere on the plateau, it’s hitting Saddle and going up!

Saddle has three distinctive regions, each of which comprises roughly 1/3 of its length:

This section has a gentle south slope with few if any flyable slopes, leading to a large very steep N face overlooking Crab Creek, averaging 1700 feet of relief, larger than Kiona or Eagle Butte. The western end of the ridge overlooking the Columbia and Sentinel Gap provides steep bluffs facing SW to N. Terrain is sage and dirt with small rocks, except at the western shoulder where boulders and outcroppings are everywhere.

See "Saddle West" on overview map below.

Access: 5-10 miles of dirt, 2000’ climb, graded gravel with moderate washboard, no large rocks, or ruts. Can drive to most flying sites in any vehicle if you don’t mind bouncing a bit.

Camping: Allowed, obey posted signs, there is private land here as well. Wonderful grassy draws on the way up.

Wind Direction: SW to N wind depending on site.

This section has a narrow ridgeline running at about 2300’ for nine miles, with equal steepness on both north and south facing slopes. There are still small bluffs overlooking Crab Creek to the north but they are only a few hundred feet high and far down the mountain. Stupendous views on both sides.

See "Saddle Central" on overview map below.

Access: About 20 miles of dirt, graveled and graded at first, changing to rutted and chuckholes with rocks, road stays right on top of the summit ridge for miles. Drive to all sites, any vehicle with moderate clearance.

Camping: Camping: Allowed, obey posted signs, there is private land here as well. Can be windy on the ridgeline, though there are some low spots on the W end of the narrow ridge that may provide some cover.

Wind Direction: N or S, practically anywhere is good.

Background: This spectacular, exposed ridgeline in the center of the Saddle Mountain structure is treeless and narrow for at least 8 miles, with more than 15 more miles of ridge to the E and W. See descriptions for Saddle East and Saddle West for more information about these regions.

The central ridge averages 2300 – 2500’ elevation, for a vertical rise above the surrounding desert of up to 1800 feet. A road runs along the entire ridge crest making for incredibly easy access to miles of narrow ridgelines and bowls. In two places the ridgetop is less than 100 feet wide for a mile, making this section of Saddle a good bet for people interested in trying out dynamic soaring techniques.

Exploration of this portion of the mountain is easy, and scenic. The complete lack of shade can be a problem on long days, so be sure to bring shade, and lots of sunscreen and water.

This site has the best exposure for a N or S wind, but the worst for anything else, so pay attention to the weather predictions. It’s also the hardest to get to of the three Saddle sloping regions, due to the long dirt approach.

Slope Terrain at Saddle Central: Entirely open, large, steep slopes. Dirt with flowers, cheatgrass, sagebrush, baseball to gravel sized rocks in soil, few boulders or outcroppings.

Flying Saddle Central: With a N or S wind, the lift is extremely vertical and very large. The more the wind swings to the E or W, the harder it is to fly this area because of the numerous humps and minor summits to the E and W which create problems.

On calm wind days, enormous thermals come up the hill from both N and S due to the surrounding desert and large areas of basalt outcroppings found on the lower slopes.

Getting There: Drive to Mattawa following directions given for Saddle West. Follow the road E out of town, turn left on "O" road about 4 miles out. This gravel road follows a wash up into the Saddle range, take right at prominent "Y" at about 6 miles.

You should now be heading E on a fairly rutty dirt road, a few rocks. Follow this road and stay on obvious main portion for 6 more miles, following the broad and flat W central portion of Saddle and wondering where the big hill is. Don’t worry, you’re almost there.

At about 14 miles from pavement, you’ll see the ridgeline dramatically narrowing after passing a seemingly endless succession of ruts and flat sagebrush desert. Pass a radio tower on the left, then the view expands 100% as you drop a hundred feet or so to get out onto the ridgeline. Wahatis peak and the narrow ridgeline are clearly visible a few miles ahead, drive and pick your spot.

The narrowest stretch of ridgeline is the mile before, and the mile after the antenna farm with the prominent windmill you’ll pass about 2 miles onto the ridge proper.

The relatively symmetrical North/South facing slopes continue, and there are no longer bluffs to the N face. The summit ridge has a wider aspect and more rounded shoulders in most cases, and averages about 1800’-2000’ feet elevation with gentler slopes in both directions. Note: There are still unexplored areas on the extreme eastern end of Saddle, beyond where some rough terrain blocks access from the paved road.

See "Saddle East" on overview map below.

Access: 6 miles of excellent old paved road to top of ridge, cracked pavement to flying site. Any car can make this one.

Camping: Allowed on N side of Saddle ridge, where it isn’t on Wahluke Slope Wildlife area. Not permitted on the way up from the S or at primary flying hill.

Wind: S (preferred) or N (you’ll have to look for a suitable spot)

Background: This area is the easiest to reach place on Saddle. A very well maintained road leads to the summit ridge, a right turn (to the east) takes you to an incredible bowl for S winds, while a left (to the west) leads to Wahatis peak and a few more S wind sites and a few N wind ones. The basin shown on the maps for flying a S wind is VERY nice, the road lip is the slope summit and you can place your lawn chair on the lip and fly the road edge for at least ¼ mile to the E and W if you choose your parking carefully. The basin forms a huge, south facing scoop for 1000 vertical feet and is very scenic with the Columbia and Hanford easily visible.

Slope Terrain at Saddle East: Entirely open, large, steep slopes. Dirt with flowers, cheatgrass, sagebrush, baseball to gravel sized rocks in soil, few boulders or outcroppings.

Flying Saddle East: With a S wind, the lift is extremely vertical and very large. The more the wind swings to the E or W, the harder it is to fly this area because of the numerous humps and minor summits to the E and W which create problems. For N winds move a few miles to the W towards Wahatis Peak to find steep N faces.

On calm wind days, enormous thermals come up the hill from both N and S due to the surrounding desert and large areas of basalt outcroppings found on the lower slopes.

Getting There: This area is the easiest to reach place on Saddle, while not as close to Mattawa as Saddle West, the road to the primary S wind sloping site is very good as a result of defensive military emplacements formerly protecting Hanford here. The road is nicely paved with few holes all the way up the mountain to the ridgeline, and from there it’s well packed gravel and old pavement out to the S wind sloping site.

Travel W from Mattawa for about 12 miles until the junction with Hwy 24. Turn left to continue E on 24, continue 7 more miles, watching on the N side of the road for the well marked access road. There is a large BLM sign facing the highway with rules for use of the area, turn there and proceed N on pavement until on top of Saddle E. Choose a right for the nice basin and S wind, left for N wind and Wahatis peak.

If the wind is looking to be N and steady, not much beats the western end of the mountain overlooking Crab Creek, the immense wall there generates some really fast climbing big air. Look at the map of Saddle West for "best spot on Saddle".

I haven’t been on the Central section’s highest ridges in N wind, so they may equal the size of the lift and the rocks are less prominent there, so if I was flying a ‘glass ship I’d probably take Central in N wind.

If it’s W or SW, your only choice is the Sentinal Gap overlook at the extreme west end. This flies OK in a N as well, and the eye busting view of 30 miles of Columbia passing 1600’ below and stretching off in both directions for miles makes this a neat spot. This spot also has the biggest rocks on the mountain, so you’d best take a foamie or a net for landing!

PS: Watch for snakes!

In a S wind, you’re better off avoiding Saddle W altogether. I’ve wasted a couple days there, when I should have just gotten in the car and headed to Central or East. On the way to Central or East, you’ve got a bit of a choice. Central is better for two wind directions, and is bigger, but it’s a longer (2x) drive on dirt, even though the turnoff is much closer to Mattawa. Even though East is farther, it’s paved all the way to the top and consequently, you’re there faster. Central has the bigger hill, you can camp there, and N and S winds, while East has an incredible south wind site you park at, and fun flying a nice, custom made for sloping road lip, but you can’t camp.

Choices, choices.

Note: For you slope fools intent on traversing the entire ridgeline….

It may be in theory be possible to traverse from West to Central, but there is a large inholding of private land right across the main road on the way and a big locked gate.

There may be a way around the private section, but I didn’t have time to look, last time we just went back down to the highway, and then back up on the access to West when the wind changed on us. There appears to be a road network south of the inholding that would permit circling the private land, but I haven’t done it.

You can drive Central’s summit line all the way to a cool little pass 1/2 mile W of Wahatis peak, but the summit is a rocky and narrow and the road does not climb it. You can go down either N or S from this pass, but the road is steep and there is no guarantee of traversible public land on either descent. You could well wind up at a locked gate at the bottom of a steep hill too nasty to get back up, or on the wrong side of a canal or creek from the highway.

Farther east, a whole series of gaps and ridges breaks eastern Saddle into little chunks individually accessible by a couple roads from differing directions.

I suppose you could probably do the entire stretch on a mountain bike.

Any roads you choose to attempt on the N face of Saddle may in fact wind you up on private land.

The exposed N face is composed of layers from under Saddle, which merely ½ mile N, under Crab Creek, are deep underground. Imagine making a sandwich, then pushing up from underneath until a flap tears loose, and the bread on the bottom is pushed up until it’s visible from the top of the sandwich. This loosely describes what happened at Saddle. There are currently oil and gas leases active on Saddle, as petro-companies suspect that the resultant crustal fold underneath Saddle retains trapped gas and oil.

The formation of Saddle from successive basalt flows separated in time by millions of years during which forests regrew on the surface has also resulted in the presence of petrified wood between basalt flow layers.

Vegetation and Fauna: Cheatgrass, sage, and bluebunch wheatgrass at lower elevations, bluebunch wheatgrass dominates the upper elevations. No trees. This climate region is called shrub-steppe.

Numerous coyotes can be seen and heard here, as well as large herds of deer, and tons of mice and raptors. Rattlesnakes are also present so watch your step and wear boots.

Conditions: Many windy days, principally N, NW, S, SW. Snow sporadically Oct-March, usually melts off after a few days.

Temperatures climb into the 60’s in late March, and by May it can be 75-85 degrees on the summit. Summer days are extremely hot here, and there is NO shade and no water, so be prepared.