In the 1880's and 90's, miners ventured up-lake searching for gold, silver, copper, and other metals, but wealth eluded them while the scenic beauty of Lake Chelan and the Stehekin Valley made a lasting impression on those who passed through. By 1900, tourists were coming to Stehekin by steamboat to appreciate the solitude and alpine grandeur of these mountains, and a hotel operator advertised it as the “health and pleasure seeker's Mecca.” Rainbow Falls, three hundred twelve feet high, was a popular scenic attraction in the valley. The sternwheeler Stehekin, in service from 1895 to 1904, was one of several steamers that brought tourists and freight from Chelan, with an elegantly furnished interior that included a galley, gentlemen's smoking room, and ladies cabin complete with grand piano, and round-trip fare of about $4.00. Stehekin's distinctive Field Hotel was torn down in 1927 when completion of a dam in Chelan raised the lake level, and parts of the razed structure were used in building the twenty-room Golden West Lodge, which from 1927 until 1971 was Stehekin's largest resort hotel.