Wildfire season is here and impacting several parks, so make sure you’re in the know before you go. Before you head to a park, please check its page or head to our alerts page for closures, alerts and other important information to make sure you have a fun, safe and informed trip.
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Goldendale Observatory, set in the hills above the Columbia River, houses one of the nation's largest public telescopes. Reservations are required to enter the visitor center and attend programs. See information below.
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee has appointed Scott Merriman of Thurston County as the newest member of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
Family-friendly festival runs Sept. 25-27
PASCO – Sacajawea Historical State Park welcomes all to come have some fun at its 21st-annual Heritage Days celebration.
This free, family-friendly event is open to the public on Thursday, Sept. 25 and Friday, Sept. 26, from 1 to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Planners will discuss facility improvements at Blake Island Marine State Park
OLYMPIA – April 20, 2022 – Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to a hybrid in-person and virtual public meeting on Bainbridge Island to learn more about planned facility improvements at neighboring Blake Island Marine State Park.
In celebration of our 111th birthday (just as Bilbo celebrated in The Fellowship of the Ring), we are here to show you Middle Earth and Washington are not so different. Sure, The Lord of the Rings wasn't filmed here, but that doesn't mean you can't walk through the ecological diversity of Middle Earth right here in Washington.
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to nominate winter sports enthusiasts for the agency’s snowmobile advisory committee. Three positions are available statewide to snowmobilers, and one is available statewide to individuals involved in non-motorized winter sports.
OLYMPIA – Washington State Parks’ Folk and Traditional Arts Program (FTAP) announces its lineup of concerts and festivals this spring and summer, including the popular Waikiki Beach concerts at Cape Disappointment and the longstanding American Roots concerts at Deception Pass.
Forest thinning project will reduce wildfire risk to Roslyn, Cle-Elum
OLYMPIA – May 12, 2022 – Washington State Parks will begin work to thin approximately 90 acres on the Bullfrog State Park Property near Cle Elum this month. The hired contractor will remove smaller, weaker and less fire tolerant trees to reduce fuel loads and promote fire tolerant species. The project will return the forest to historic site conditions and improve the health of remaining trees by reducing competition.
Monticello Convention State Park Heritage Site commemorates two meetings attended by Euro-American men that helped set in motion the establishment of the Washington Territory.
Despite the fact that the territory had fewer than 4,000 settlers, the petitions ultimately succeeded in influencing the passage of legislation establishing the Territory of Washington, approved by President Millard Fillmore on March 2, 1853.
OLYMPIA – Feb. 22, 2022 – This month, Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Holly Williams of Vancouver as the newest member of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
Once a Yakama Nation camping area, the rich, fertile region sparked discord between the tribes and Euro-American settlers, prompting the U.S. Army to construct a fort in 1856. Fort Simcoe's military history was short-lived when in 1859 the fort was closed and turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is one of the few remaining pre-Civil War forts in the west.
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is seeking applications from winter sports enthusiasts for the agency’s snowmobile and non-motorized advisory committees. Five positions are available statewide to snowmobilers, and two are available statewide to individuals involved in non-motorized winter sports.
…a seacoast fortification may be said to have most efficiently performed the function for which it was intended, if it is never called into action at all.
-Eben Eveleth Winslow, US Army Corps of Engineers
OLYMPIA — Washington State Parks needs the help of its visitors to stop the spread of invasive pests that can cause significant damage to our forests.
State parks have a wide variety of natural native and planted non-native trees and forests, which puts them at risk for almost every worrisome invasive pest. Parks are of particular concern because they welcome visitors from all over the state and country who often bring their own camping supplies for their stay. This includes the main culprit for invasive pest transfer: firewood.
Ebey’s Landing State Park Heritage Site is situated at a point where tall bluffs of ice age glacial outwash that ring most of Whidbey Island gently lower to the sea, affording easy access from the saltwater beach to the open prairies of the island’s interior. People have lived here for more than 10,000 years. It is among the most culturally significant settings in the Pacific Northwest.
Steptoe Battlefield State Park Heritage Site preserves a significant site in the running battle that occurred on May 17, 1858, between allied Indigenous warriors under the leadership of Chief Kamiakin (Yakama/ Palús) and US Army soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. Steptoe. The battle was a significant victory for the Indigenous warriors in their drive to protect their way of life against the incursion of American colonists into their homelands.
The Central, 107 mile section of the PTCT begins at the Snoqualmie Tunnel and continues east through Ellensburg, over the Columbia River on the recently renovated and reopened Beverly Bridge and ends at Royal City Cut-off (milepost 2010).
Free performances celebrate diverse cultures
OLYMPIA – June 7, 2022 – The Washington State Parks' Folk and Traditional Arts Program will reprise two of its beloved concert series this summer at Deception Pass and Cape Disappointment state parks. The program also added a third series at Lake Wenatchee State Park, expanding free access to diverse musical traditions in Central Washington.
Performance schedules are as follows:
In the evening by lamp-light, Willie was buried here November 26, 1855.
Willie Keil Grave State Park Heritage Site commemorates a tale that is legendary for its strangeness, its example of devotional love for a departed son, and for its story of a father’s promise kept.
OLYMPIA – Jan. 11, 2023 – This month, Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Ali Raad of Thurston County as the newest member of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
Olympia – May 14, 2024 – The Washington State Parks (Parks) Folk and Traditional Arts Program (FTAP) has announced their summer lineup of concerts and festivals, including a new concert series in Central Washington and a new cultural festival at Lake Sammamish.
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Parks Folk and Traditional Arts Program (FTAP) and Kirkland-based non-profit Ubuntu Nerudo will partner to hold the second-annual Ubuntu Nerudo African Heritage Festival at Lake Sammamish State Park next month.
Goldendale Observatory State Park Heritage Site offers visitors an opportunity to peer through a telescope to glimpse other worlds far beyond planet Earth, thanks to the dedication of people who generously gave their time and skill to build a 24.5-inch telescope for the sole purpose of providing the public an extraordinary experience.
An Observatory for the Public
In 1960, four men in Vancouver, WA came together to pursue their dream of building a telescope.