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Picturesque Scenic Beach has stunning views of the toothy Olympic Mountain range. Enjoy groomed trails through the forest and admire native rhododendrons in season. Stroll along the beach and past the historic Emel House, a popular wedding destination.

A Spit of Land

The formation of a sand spit extending outward from a headland requires three things:

The Bay of Despond

Today’s Jarrell Cove State Park was covered by glacial ice during the most recent ice age. The fingerlike waterways of South Puget Sound including the inverted Y shape of Jarrell Cove and Pickering Passage outside its entrance were excavated by highly pressurized meltwater streams that developed as the thousands-of-feet-thick ice began to melt. The park’s namesake cove features deep waters and a tall tidal range. Low tides yield extensive muddy banks.

Picture a green fairy forest of moss-covered rocks and cedar trees.
Matia island archipelago for its old-growth trees, rainforest vibe and dramatic cove with fantasy forest canopy and swirling sandstone formations. Picturing a green fairy forest covered with moss and cedar trees.
Located in the San Juan Islands, Matia Island Marine State Park is a secluded little island accessible only by boat.

The 3,876-acre, 130-mile Columbia Plateau State Park Trail is one of the state's hidden riches; explorers who find it are rewarded with big eastern Washington skies, rolling landscapes and unforgettable journeys.

SPOKANE – This spring, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will complete a 340-acre forest health treatment in the area immediately north of Seven Mile Road in Riverside State Park.

This project will help reduce wildfire risk within the park and promote a healthy and resilient forest by reducing the amount of wildfire fuels. It will also remove unhealthy trees from the ecosystem.

Savor panoramic mountain views, expansive wildflower meadows and starry skies at this Simcoe mountain jewel. Hike through tall pines and sturdy oaks while enjoying birdsongs. Great for day trips to the Goldendale Observatory or the majestic Columbia River Gorge.
Grayland Beach offers front-row access to sandy shores and sweeping ocean views. In the summer, enjoy a variety of beach and ocean activities, while our winters invite you to spend your days relaxing peacefully in your RV or yurt.
Break out the boat, paddleboard or kayak — Blake Island offers classic island recreation while still being close to Seattle.

Climb a mountain, ride a horse or try stand up paddling. Settle into your camp chair and soak your feet in an alpine lake. Kick back with a book, teach the kids to swim – or do it all – at Lake Wenatchee State Park.

Washington water fans, look no further! Bust out your kayak, sand bucket, swimsuit or fishing rod, and head straight for Dash Point State Park! Hidden in plain sight between Seattle and Tacoma, this park offers miles of forested hiking and biking trails, but its main draw is the beach.

OLYMPIA – Sept. 13, 2022 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its regular hybrid commission meeting on Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Gladish Community Center in Pullman.

Commission action items include approval of the submittal of the 2023 supplemental operating and capital budget requests to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) and approval of the 2023 regular commission meeting schedule.

In addition, the commission will hear updates and reports from agency staff.


OLYMPIA – Nov. 30, 2021 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold a planning meeting in-person on Tuesday, Dec. 7 and Wednesday, Dec. 8 in Kalama.

Agenda items include year-end review, division highlights and 2022 priorities.

The public may attend the meeting, but no public comment will be taken. Attendance is limited to in-person only. No virtual access will be available.

The commission will not make any decisions at the planning meeting.

WHAT
Commission planning meeting

Curlew Lake State Park is perched in a high valley in northeastern Washington that owes its landform features to Ice Age glaciers. The lake, six miles long, half a mile wide, and reaching a depth of 130 feet, is centered in the valley of Curlew Creek. The creek drains to the Kettle River, which wanders back and forth across the US/Canada border to its confluence with the Columbia River near Kettle Falls.

Airplane pilots and boaters compare Puget Sound to a maze. Land fingers, islands and waterways comprise the stunning topography, and South Sound inlets dead-end at mudflats and beaches. Amidst all this intrigue, Joemma Beach State Park is remarkably accessible.

Yakima Sportsman State Park owes its preservation and its distinctive name to the generosity of a group of waterfowl hunting enthusiasts who purchased lands in the Yakima River floodplain in the 1940s.

Folds, Floods, Meanders and Mines

The park is situated in a geographic area called the Yakima Fold Belt, an area of central Washington where tectonic compression of the layered Columbia River Basalt lava flows results in a series of parallel ridges that run perpendicular to the force of the stress—kind of like kicking a rug creates ridges in the fabric.

Cape Disappointment State Park spreads over the land north of the point where the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean meet. The park includes three headlands of basalt rock cliffs: Cape Disappointment overlooking the river, North Head above the strand of Long Beach, and McKenzie Head, midway between the other two headlands. The basalt bedrock of these wave-pounded cliffs are ancient lava flows that erupted on the ocean floor. Encountering the cold ocean water, the lava quickly hardened into bulbous masses geologists call pillow lava.

Crawford State Park feels like it's at the end of the earth, and its star attraction, Gardner Cave, feels like the center of the earth.

SPOKANE – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks) invites the public to provide feedback and participate in conversations about a potential expansion of Riverside State Park to incorporate a property, newly acquired by Inland Northwest Land Conservancy, and known as “Glen Tana.”   

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 —  Washington State Parks will perform its annual mooring buoy maintenance at marine state parks in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands in June.

This ongoing maintenance creates safe conditions for boaters who tie up to buoys at marine state parks and recreate or sleep in their vessels.

The following parks will have limited mooring buoy availability during the following timeframes:

All but hidden on the west side of Marrowstone Island, Mystery Bay State Park offers a great escape for visitors arriving by land or by water. Boaters can dock or lay anchor and stroll along the grassy and gravelly shoreline or enjoy the inlet's pristine waters.

Nationwide recruitment efforts lead to internal talent

OLYMPIA – March 16, 2022 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission announced today the appointment of Diana Dupuis as the agency's new director. Dupuis will be the first female director since the agency was established more than 100 years ago.

Patos Island is a 207-acre marine park that features dramatic rock formations, a landscape of madrone trees and a working lighthouse. Boat in and stay overnight at a primitive campsite and immerse yourself in the remote beauty of the San Juan Islands.