Was in Chelan for Memorial Day Weekend with a bunch of friends and we were looking for a easy to moderate difficulty day hike. We decided on the Chelan Butte because it was so close to the downtown area and had significant elevation gain.
We followed the directions on the site and by popular demand (in the car) we pulled over not long after getting off the paved road. In actuality we should have kept driving farther on, up to the state park sign. Instead I would say we added a good 1.5 miles to the trip in each direction making it overall about 7 miles. It was a hot and sunny day and most of us in the group were prepared for the hike ahead. The whole trip up is on an access road for the radio/cellular and hence is not too rocky or uneven.
We got all the way up to the top an noticed that there was in fact a parking pull off just before the cell towers (which was where some people did drive up to). The view is well worth the hike (even parking where we did) and it offers spectacular views of both Lake Chelan and the Columbia River.
If you plan on hiking most of the way up the Chelan Butte Rd (and continuing to the cell towers, which is Butte Lookout Rd) certainly bring some water and snacks as you will likely work up a sweat getting up there.
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