Summer has finally arrived in Washington state, and with it comes the next installment to the Summer Motel Guide!
Located on Wannacut Lake in Tonasket, WA, I invite you to visit Norma & Virgil “Stone’s Resort.”
While there is not much information to be found about the history of the motel, it appears as though it opened sometime in the 1960s. A 1968 ad in the Spokesman-Review (a Spokane newspaper) calls it “Stone’s Wannacut Lake Resort” and touts it as a “modern trailer park” with “complete camp facilities.” According to the ad, the resort offered horseback riding and was “open thru hunting season.”
Horses and hunting aside, what is perhaps most noteworthy about this motel is its remarkable ability to resist time. Now called Sun Cove Resort, it still offers trailer camping spots, regular camping spots, motel rooms, and access to Wannacut Lake. The motel rooms remain covered in wood paneling and outfitted with groovy blue appliances. According to online reviews, there is no cell service, no phones in the rooms, and no television.
And while the wood paneling and blue appliances are enough to catapult you into retro heaven, there is one more thing to attest to the resort’s ability to defy time: The phone number seen on this 1960s postcard is the same phone number the resort uses today.
So if you’re looking for a piece of yesteryear to stay in this summer, you may find it suitable to dial (509) 476-2223.