Desert Aire, Washington — Golf Course in a Place Honest Enough to Say “Desert”

Desert Aire does not pretend central Washington is lush.

The community sits above the Columbia in hot, dry southern Grant County.

Then irrigation draws an extremely precise line through the landscape.

Lawns, trees, vineyards and a golf course occupy green ground beside hills that remain visibly arid.

Desert Aire developed as a planned recreation and retirement community rather than around a railroad, mine or courthouse. Boating, golf, an airstrip and the reservoir behind Priest Rapids Dam became part of the proposition.

Its origin is distinctly modern: take sunshine, irrigation, reservoir access and available land, then build a place people might choose after employment no longer dictates where they live.

The desert stayed.

Residents imported the shade.