Lake Chelan State Park History

Lake Chelan State Park lies by the shores of Washington’s deepest lake, an idyllic gateway to both the wilderness of the North Cascades and the arid agricultural landscape of central Washington.

Lake Chelan’s basin was carved by multiple advances of glacial ice during the most recent ice age. Uniquely, the southern basin of the lake was carved by a lobe of ice flowing up the course of the lake, while the deeper, longer basin to the north was sculpted by a tongue of ice flowing down the valley. The two bodies of ice met at a point about three miles north of today’s Lake Chelan State Park known as “The Narrows.”

The excavating power of the ice deepened the trough of today’s lake to 1,486 feet at its deepest point, which lies 386 feet below sea level! Lake Chelan ranks as the 24th deepest lake on Earth.

Indigenous Lands

Lake Chelan State Park lies within the traditional territories of Interior Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Chelan Band of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The name Chelan means “deep water,” according to today’s tribal members. For thousands of years these eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains and the lakes and rivers that flow through them have provided habitat for a diverse community of life that forms the basis of their cultures. The waters of Lake Chelan provide a pathway from the Columbia River deep into the North Cascades, and ancient routes across the mountains provided access to coastal relatives in the Skagit River Valley.

The Chelan Band was not represented at the Walla Walla Treaty Council held by Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens on June 9, 1855. Subsequently, an Executive Order of President Rutherford B. Hayes on April 18, 1879, created the Columbia (or “Moses”) Reservation, extending from the north shore of Lake Chelan to the British Columbia border. Non-tribal miners living in the area protested the order. On July 4, 1884, the reservation was dissolved, and the land returned to the public domain of the US federal government. On May 1, 1886, the area was formally opened for settlement. Tribal heads of households who wished to remain in the area were allotted up to 640 acres of land. Forty allotments were issued, including several on the north shore of Lake Chelan.

Land Distribution

Government surveys were completed in 1884 but revised in 1900 due to an error in the initial survey. Most of the land in today’s Lake Chelan State Park passed into private ownership as a Homestead Entry patent to John W. Stevenson in 1904. Stevenson had initially established a claim prior to the completion of the survey. He built a 20’ x 20’ cabin in 1888 or 1890, which remained standing until it was dismantled in 1992 by park staff due to safety concerns. Stevenson also developed a boat launch on his property. Lake Chelan’s first steamboat, the Belle of Chelan, was launched from the site in 1888, providing passenger and freight service to all points along the 50-mile length of the lake. By 1892, government surveyors noted that Stevenson had a thriving farm irrigated with water from First Creek, with “fine vegetables and fruit trees.”

Adjoining property was homesteaded by Andrew Barrin beginning in 1892, and also patented in 1904.

Stevenson and Barrin sold their properties to Adrian and Fred Vollmer in 1905-1906, and the brothers developed the First Creek Ranch as a rental property for tourists visiting Lake Chelan. The property became run-down by the 1930s.

Creating a State Park

As early as 1925, the State Parks Committee, noting that “Lake Chelan is one of the great natural beauties of the State of Washington,” considered the establishment of a state park on Lake Chelan but lacked funding to acquire property there. In 1941, Parks Superintendent E.A. Carroll was authorized to investigate a possible land acquisition to ensure public access to the lakeshore, which was being rapidly developed.

In February 1943, the State Parks Committee acquired much of the former Stevenson and Barrin homesteads by a court approved condemnation proceeding for $6,700, establishing Lake Chelan State Park.

Development of camping and boating facilities quickly attracted visitors to the park. The park is beloved for its diverse campsites, including RV sites by an expansive lawn, tent spots by the rushing waters of First Creek and unique shady walk-in sites arrayed on terraces above the lakeshore, with wonderful views of the activity on the water.