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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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.
Trees are ever-present above us when visiting or camping in the forest. Yet, too often, we are unaware of the risks associated with trees. Trees and branches can fall at any time and at any location for lots of reasons, including weather, age, fire, damage and disease.
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold a virtual work session on May 21.
Commission meeting agenda items include a financial update, a presentation on the current 2025-2027 budget outlook, a look at the 2026 operating supplemental budget request, a legislative update and a discussion of Commission priorities.
Saltwater State Park provides access to the shores and undersea gardens of Puget Sound in the midst of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The woodsy ravine behind the beach can be explored on miles of trails, and visitors enjoy camp life just minutes from the homes of millions of people.
Book a Washington State Parks Retreat Center for youth groups, schools, families, businesses and other groups
OLYMPIA – Dec. 21, 2021 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission announced the reopening of park retreat centers beginning in spring 2022. On Jan. 3 at 7 a.m., parks will begin accepting retreat center reservations for the 2022 Memorial Day weekend and beyond.
Brooks Memorial State Park is located in a Simcoe Mountain oasis of ponderosa pine and Oregon white oak forest beside the East Prong of the Little Klickitat River. The area has long been enjoyed as a rest stop for travelers going between the Columbia River Gorge and points in north central Washington.
Dash Point State Park provides access to the shores and undersea gardens of Puget Sound in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The woodsy ravine behind the park’s beach can be explored on miles of trails, and visitors enjoy camp life just minutes from the homes of millions of people.
Fort Ebey State Park preserves a World War II era military facility established to bolster Puget Sound coastal defenses. Its unobstructed view west through the Strait of Juan de Fuca provided a valued strategic location and features wide vistas for park visitors today.
Kopachuck State Park is a good place to contemplate the many interconnections that bind the community of life to the landscape we all inhabit.
The winding saltwater passageways of southern Puget Sound, including Carr Inlet surrounding Kopachuck State Park, were molded and scoured by glacial meltwaters at the close of the Pleistocene ice age.
Seaquest State Park hugs the shore of Silver Lake in the foothills of Mount St. Helens, famous for its major eruption on May 18, 1980. A major attraction at the park is the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, where the story of the mountain’s volcanic history is interpreted with exhibits, ranger programs and audio-visual media.
Wallace Falls State Park highlights three plunging waterfalls on the Wallace River. The largest one drops 265 feet down a sheer face of moss-covered rock. The park’s busy, well-built trails are a testament to the hard work and persistence of those who dedicated themselves to its creation.
Westport Light State Park encompasses the southern point at the entrance to Grays Harbor. The point is a constantly changing bit of land, at the whim of sand and waves. The name of the point has fluctuated, too, finally landing on Point Chehalis, using the tribal name of its original people, translated as People of the Sand.
Fort Columbia State Park preserves an example of a US Army defense project from the beginning of the 20th century. Its strategic location on a high bluff at the entrance to the Columbia River estuary also features wide views of one of the most consequential places in the modern story of the Pacific Northwest.
In April 2025, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will begin a grant-funded project to build a new trailhead and expand parking access to the popular Knothead Loop Trail in Northwest Spokane. Construction has begun and will tentatively be completed in September. View a map of the work area here.
When: Tuesday, August 26th: 8AM-12PM
Where: Wilber Trailhead, Riverside State Park
We will meet at Wilber Trailhead and shuttle down the Centennial Trail to where Tr. 25 crosses the trail. From there, we will hike back along trail 25 to the trailhead to brush back encroaching vegetation to clear the way for this multi-use trail (hikers, bikes, horses). We will make use of hand saws, loppers, brush cutters, pole saws, and rakes.
Where: Wilber Trailhead, Riverside State Park
We will meet at Wilber Trailhead and shuttle down the Centennial Trail to where Tr. 25 crosses the trail. From there, we will hike back along trail 25 to the trailhead to brush back encroaching vegetation to clear the way for this multi-use trail (hikers, bikes, horses). We will make use of hand saws, loppers, brush cutters, pole saws, and rakes.
Even during the dark days of winter, the world is your family-friendly playground at our state parks and Sno-Parks. But cold weather adventures do add a few layers complexity, pun intended. We’ve got tips (learned mostly through trial and error) on how to stay warm and dry in the outdoors this winter.
McMicken Island is so small, you could easily miss it. But boaters who love Puget Sound would not want to miss it. This small state park, in the fold of Harstine Island, is only reachable by boat. Low tide allows you to walk across a tombolo to and from Harstine Island for a few hours each day.
Penrose Point State Park preserves a landscape that was a beloved summer retreat for a family that played a prominent role in education and public service in Washington State.
The winding saltwater passageways of southern Puget Sound, including Carr Inlet surrounding Penrose Point, were molded and scoured by glacial meltwaters at the close of the Pleistocene ice age.
Fort Worden Historical State Park preserves an example of a US Army defense project from the beginning of the 20th century. Its strategic location on a high bluff at the entrance to Puget Sound also features sweeping vistas of the islands, waterways and mountain ranges that have attracted people here for millennia.
To the untrained eye, standing dead trees look sad, like a blight on the landscape. But give them a second glance and you’ll see they are teeming with life.
These trees are called habitat snags. When they decay, birds, bats, bugs, mammals and small reptiles co-create or compete for living quarters in the crown or cavities.
Rainbow Falls State Park, a peaceful haven in an oasis of old-growth forest, was established early in the growth of the Washington State Park system. The park was envisioned to be one of the “natural beauty spots untouched by civilization and the greed of man” that Governor Roland H. Hartley and others believed would make an ideal state park.
Significant septic and infrastructure failures led to the closure of the cabins and other buildings in the beach area of park in February 2024. Following a public process, the Commission voted in October 2024 to keep the cabins permanently closed where they currently sit.
The Center for Wooden Boats, restrooms in the lower area, the store and park office are also closed.
Day use in the area remains open but restrooms are only available in other parts of the park.
Join us to improve young stands of Ponderosa Pine and Doug Fir through reducing overcrowded stands. Giving trees proper spacing allows them to grow with health and vigor instead of competing with one another for space, light, and water. We will use handsaws and loppers to remove trees and lay them alongside the trail to prepare for the woodchipper to make a pass through at a later date.
We will meet at the 9-Mile Rec Area and hike or shuttle to our thinning site (1/4-1/2 mile up the trail).
We will meet at the 9-Mile Rec Area and hike or shuttle to our thinning site (1/4-1/2 mile up the trail).
OLYMPIA — The community is invited to attend an open house to learn more about an upcoming forest thinning project at Nisqually State Park.
Between fall 2024 and summer 2025, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will complete a 189-acre forest health treatment inside Nisqually State Park. There will be intermittent trail closures in the project area during this time.
Fort Casey Historical State Park preserves an example of a US Army defense project from the beginning of the 20th century. Its strategic location on a high bluff at the entrance to Puget Sound also features an historic lighthouse and sweeping vistas of the islands, waterways and mountain ranges that have attracted people here for millennia.