The Parks headquarters Information Center is moving from its current location in Tumwater to the Department of Ecology building at 300 Desmond Drive SE in Lacey. Our customer service team is located at the front desk, just inside the main entrance.
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No Discover Pass is required to park on those three days
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its regular hybrid commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at the Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop.
The public is welcome to attend in-person or online.
Agenda items include:
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is committed to telling the full story of events that are significant to each park. Despite limitations in the historical record, we have tried to represent the best information available to us. Our efforts to interpret the past are an ongoing process and as such, these stories will be updated over time. Our ongoing relationship-building and collaboration with Tribes and others will inform this work.
The Winter Recreation Program at Washington State Parks will be temporarily closing 14 motorized Sno-parks for the 2024-2025 season.
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its regular commission meeting on Jan. 25, 2023, at the Labor and Industries Offices in Tumwater.
The public is welcome to attend in-person or online.
Agenda items include:
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Election of Commission officers for 2024
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Adoption of the 2024 Parks Director Performance Agreement
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks) believes the outdoors is for everyone and continues to make strides to remove barriers for visitors and staff alike.
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold in-person only planning meetings on Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Thursday, Dec. 7 at the Tulalip Resort in Tulalip.
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has officially launched a redesigned and improved parks.wa.gov website.
The new, refreshed website has a modern, inclusive and accessible design. The refresh comes after many years of feedback from parks visitors that they struggled to find information on the website, especially when using a mobile device. Nearly 400 current and potential Washington Parks visitors provided feedback on the design of the new parks.wa.gov website.
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is asking campers to weigh in on proposed changes to its camping stay limits.
The proposed update limits maximum stay lengths to no more than 10 nights in one park within a 30-day period. Total nights stayed cannot exceed 90 days per calendar year in all state parks.
Portland-based artist Nina Vichayapai spent five weeks pulling inspiration from the sites, sounds and people of Deception Pass as State Parks' first-ever artist in residence.
OLYMPIA — Your visit to Deception Pass State Park will look a little bit different this year as park staff steward its recovery from winter storms.
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Discover Pass Program has designated the Discover Pass free days for 2024.
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Discover Pass Program has designated 12 Discover Pass free days for 2025.
The West Beach parking lot at Deception Pass State Park experienced significant damage following heavy winter storms in January. The lot pavement was damaged in several areas and littered with large debris. The parking lot is located near a shoreline, which is a sensitive ecosystem.
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold a special commission meeting at the Stanwood High School Commons on July 15 and its regularly scheduled commission meeting at the Four Points by Sheraton in Bellingham on July 18.
The regular Commission meeting agenda items include requests for Commission approval of:
SPOKANE — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is asking the public to weigh in on two potential scenarios for the future of Mount Spokane State Park.
This feedback will help inform the development of the new 20-year master plan for the park. The planning effort has been underway since early 2024 and will result in a clear vision, timeline and prioritized list of maintenance and improvement projects.
OLYMPIA – November 21, 2022 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to nominate winter sports enthusiasts for the agency's snowmobile and non-motorized advisory committees. Four positions are available statewide to snowmobilers, and two are available statewide to individuals involved in non-motorized winter sports.
No Discover Pass is required on 12 special days next year
At Parks, we work hard to protect and preserve the millions of years of cultural, geological and biological history tied to the lands we steward. We know it might be tempting to take things you find while exploring a park. But did you know you might be accidentally removing or destroying something that represents a significant part of our state history? These items may be artifacts or natural history specimens, and it is important to know what to do when you find one.
OLYMPIA – December 8, 2022 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Winter Recreation Program, along with U.S. Forest Service (USFS) partners at the Snoqualmie Ranger District, are excited to announce a new winter Sno-Park and access area at exit 47 on I-90 West of the summit of Snoqualmie.
In my junior year at University of Washington, I learned about park aide positions available at Lake Sylvia State Park, just two miles from downtown "Monte," a park where I had spent sooo many hours swimming and playing as a kid - and way too many hours working on my tan as a teenager. I applied and worked there two summers - 1986 and 1987. Almost 40 years later I still think of that job as one of my all-time favorites!
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Learn what parks take reservation and what facilities are offered.
Visitation to parks, natural areas and properties across public lands has increased since 2020, and with it has come an increase in the inadvertent discovery of objects and specimens by visitors and staff.
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.