The Naches River is a tributary of the Yakima River running about 75 miles throughout central Washington, and running alongside Hwy 410. The terrain along the Naches River basin moves from wilderness and national forest in the west, including the William O. Douglas Wilderness and Wenatchee National Forest, to arid sagebrush covered foothills in the east near Naches.
Several points of interest can found along the course of the river, including the Nile Valley Landslide, Boulder Cave, Jim Sprick Community Park, lava flows, and a variety of campgrounds and hiking trails.
At the eastern end of state highway 410, the Naches River runs through the Oak Creek Wildlife Area that covers 47,200 acres of land in central Washington. Primarily brush land with trees at higher elevations, the Oak Creek Wildlife Area is home to large numbers of elk, mule deer, big horn sheep, sage & forest grouse, turkey, quail, wood duck, and a variety of small mammals, birds, raptors, reptiles, and amphibians. A supplemental feeding program maintains the elk herd in the Wildlife Area during the winter, and up to 1,200 elk can be seen during feeding time at the station located a half mile east of
the Highway 410 and Highway 12 junction on the Old Naches Highway.