We're updating our camping and moorage fees to continue providing great experiences for visitors amid inflation and rising costs. You will see a rate increase for camping stays booked for May 15 and beyond. Moorage fees will increase Jan. 1. Learn more here.
Search results
1113 results found
OLYMPIA – Oct. 05, 2021 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold special commission meeting on Wed., Oct. 6. The purpose of this October 6 special meeting is for the commission to receive and evaluate complaints brought against a public officer or employee, to determine if the commission needs to prescribe additional measures and for the executive committee to seek additional directions or delegations from the commission as needed.
This entire gorge is famous for its wind and water sports, and Doug's Beach is a coveted spot. The winds can be fierce, whipping the river into a white-capped frenzy. Kite boarding and windsurfing success at this site comes with bragging rights and respect; it is rated as expert and is only recommended for those who are properly trained, skilled and equipped.
OLYMPIA – Ring in the new year with Washington State Parks during our annual First Day Hikes event on Jan. 1, 2024.
More than 40 state parks will host staff-led and self-guided hikes, snowshoe excursions, dog walks, bike and trail rides, paddle adventures and more on New Year’s Day.
OLYMPIA – November 15, 2022 - Washington State Parks is inviting the public to ring in the new year during its annual First Day Hikes event on Jan. 1, 2023.
At least 40 state parks will host staff-led and self-guided hikes, snowshoe excursions, bike rides and more on New Year's Day.
“May These Gates Never Be Closed”
The inscription inside the east wall of the Peace Arch monument has a simple message: the highest goal between great nations should be perfect peace. This 67-foot-tall structure of concrete on a steel frame was financed and constructed under the direction of lawyer, financier, road builder and humanitarian Sam Hill.
Willie Keil’s Grave is located in a small, private cemetery just off State Highway 6, about 5 miles east of Raymond. Stop at the State Parks highway pullout to view the gravesite, pay your respects, and read about the so-called "Pickled Pioneer."
OLYMPIA – May 3, 2022 – On May 1, Washington State Parks began managing more than 15 recreation sites owned by Avista Utilities. The properties sit around the Spokane River, Nine Mile Dam, Lake Spokane and Long Lake Dam.
According to a new five-year agreement, State Parks will operate the Avista sites as part of Riverside State Park. The land parcels, which total 2,000 acres, include six trailheads, two water access sites, two overlooks,10 boat-in campsites and one picnic area on Lake Spokane.
The trailheads are:
Join Interpretive Specialist, Sarah Overby, for a short hike in Northrup Canyon.
OLYMPIA — Significant septic failures led to the closure of the cabins and other buildings in the beach area of Cama Beach State Park in February 2024.
Ring in the holidays at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse for our annual Light Up Your Holiday event. Enjoy kid's activities and get your picture with Santa.
Forest thinning will begin this fall
OLYMPIA – Oct. 12, 2022 – Washington State Parks will hold a virtual open house on an upcoming forest health project at Squilchuck State Park. The purpose of this meeting is to share updates about the project and answer questions.
The meeting will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18 via Microsoft Teams. Attendees do not need to download Teams to join; they can use a web browser on a computer or mobile phone.
OLYMPIA — On July 1, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will transition to the statewide small works roster hosted by the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC).
Join Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park as we learn how to find art while walking…even if you don’t think you’re an artist!
Olympia — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission welcomes the community to attend an open house on Feb. 27 to discuss ongoing planning for Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park.
Cold weather scuba diving is popular in the Northwest, and our western Washington waters are among the premier places to dive in the country, says Mike Racine, a western Washington diving enthusiast. Undersea life in our region is vibrant and beautiful — a rarely seen scape of infinite wonder and mystery.
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Parks Winter Recreation Program will temporarily close fourteen motorized Sno-parks for the 2024-25 winter season, due primarily to a roughly 25 percent reduction in funds available from snowmobile registrations to support the motorized part of the program.
Hey kids! Take your parents or guardians out for some fun this Jan. 1, and learn how to hike at South Whidbey State Park.
Step through the kitchen door of the Rothschild House and step back to the 1800’s. Located at the corner of Jefferson and Taylor Streets in uptown Port Townsend, the Rothschild House is virtually unchanged from a hundred years ago.
Boaters should check project schedule before planning overnight trips
OLYMPIA – April 29, 2022 – Washington State Parks will begin contracted mooring buoy repair work in the San Juan Islands beginning Monday, May 2 and on the eastern Olympic Peninsula beginning Wednesday, June 1. The agency will repair 82 buoys that are currently unsatisfactory and unusable. The months-long maintenance project will service salvageable state-owned, public mooring buoys to ensure they are in top condition for boaters.
BLAINE – The Nooksack Indian Tribe will welcome canoe families today at Birch Bay State Park. The landing is a stopover on the Power Paddle to Puyallup Youth Canoe Journey.
Washington State Parks is conducting a public planning process to update the long-term boundary for Riverside State Park to include the property known as Glen Tana. This project adds over 1,000 acres just outside Spokane, expanding recreation opportunities and environmental protections in a high-demand, urban setting.
OLYMPIA – Celebrate the new year with Washington State Parks during our annual First Day Hikes events on Jan. 1, 2025.
More than 30 state parks will host staff-led and self-guided hikes, snowshoe excursions, trail rides, polar plunges, scavenger hunts and more on New Year’s Day.
"Its grim black walls of basalt frown across a broken chain of linear lakes, some of them as wide as the coulee floor ….. potholes a hundred feet deep in rock, dry cataracts one hundred to four hundred feet high, and river bars one hundred to two hundred feet thick … under the present semiarid climate it lies naked of forest mantle, every detail of its form clearly displayed." -J Harlen Bretz, Geologist
One of the foremost cultural and business ambassadors between the Northwest United States and Japan in the mid-1800s, MacDonald helped shaped the policies that opened relations between the two countries.