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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.

Formed by Glacial Meltwaters

Pearrygin Lake owes its existence to a quirk in the timing of melting glaciers. At the close of the Pleistocene ice age around 13,000 years ago, the huge Methow Valley glacier responsible for deepening the U-shaped Methow Valley persisted later than the tongues of ice that had flowed into the Chewack River Valley from a giant ice cap centered in today’s British Columbia.

Rockport State Park is renowned for its forest of giant Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock trees--some more than 600 years old. The classic old growth forest features large trees, standing snags, decaying logs and layered, multi-aged forest species. It has held great value for people through the ages, although it has been valued in different ways in different times.

Rasar State Park lies midway along the Skagit River’s winding path between the rugged North Cascade Mountains and the Salish Sea. The Skagit River, part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, is the second largest river on the west coast of the contiguous United States, after the Columbia. Like much of the Skagit River Valley, the park land is naturally terraced as the river has cut into glacial deposits from the ice age.

Skagit Island Marine State Park is a delightfully pristine small island located in Skagit County near Deception Pass.

Rock From Spreading Tectonic Plates

The bedrock that makes up Skagit Island is part of a larger assemblage of rocks that outcrop on nearby islands and collectively make up an ophiolite sequence, a distinctive formation of rocks formed where the sea floor has spread apart at a tectonic plate boundary.

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.

Stuart Island Marine State Park is a favorite boating destination with an interesting convergence of personal histories.

Sediments and Folds

The rocks that make up Stuart Island are made of siltstone and sandstone that formed from sediments deposited by river deltas and massive underwater landslides on the sea floor about 75 million years ago, at a location hundreds of miles south of today’s Stuart Island. Geologists call this formation the Nanaimo Group.

Clark Island Marine State Park preserves an entire long, narrow island along the northern edge of the San Juan Archipelago.

A Rocky Island

The San Juan Islands are distinct from most of Puget Sound in that they feature shorelines with exposures of hard bedrock, rather than the bluffs of clay, sand and gravel left by Ice Age glaciers that are predominant on most of Washington’s Salish Sea, the state’s inland saltwater passages.

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, but here at Washington State Parks, we appreciate our volunteers all year long!

In 2024, volunteers came out 5,000 strong, from around the country, to help in our parks. They contributed over 176,000 hours of service. They did trail work, habitat restoration, park hosting, interpretive program assistance, fundraising and donating money, educating staff and much more.

Blind Island Marine State Park is a favorite campsite for kayakers located in the heart of the San Juan Archipelago a short distance offshore from Shaw Island.

A Rocky Island

The San Juan Islands are distinct from most of Puget Sound in that they feature shorelines with exposures of hard bedrock, rather than the bluffs of clay, sand and gravel left by Ice Age glaciers that are predominant on most of Washington’s Salish Sea, the state’s inland saltwater passages.

Federation Forest State Park is an oasis of old growth forest preserved by women who banded together to effect social change and influence public policy despite barriers to their participation in political life.

In the park, Douglas fir trees soaring 200-300 feet high into the forest canopy have been growing for 300-400 years or more. Long after they die, their fallen trunks or standing snags continue to provide habitats for a diverse community of life.

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.

Lake Sammamish State Park is one of Washington’s most popular state parks, attracting visitors from the large cities and towns nearby with its attractive beaches, picnic areas, athletic fields and open space.

Tongues of the great Pleistocene glaciers that excavated the passageways of Puget Sound also dug the nearly seven-mile-long basin of Lake Sammamish. Today’s park encompasses the floodplains of Issaquah Creek and Tibbetts Creek at the lake’s inlet.

Ocean City State Park has been an oceanfront destination for generations. The park faces the Pacific Ocean at North America’s “active margin,” where the ocean-floor Juan de Fuca tectonic plate slowly sinks beneath the continent, sliding at a rate of about 13 feet per century in the plate’s subduction zone. Sudden movements of the Juan de Fuca Plate can cause earthquakes that may modify the land surface and generate tsunamis.

Posey Island Marine State Park is a small island featuring a popular campsite for kayakers that is easily accessible from the northwestern part of San Juan Island.

A Rocky Island

The San Juan Islands are distinct from most of Puget Sound in that they feature shorelines with exposures of hard bedrock, rather than the bluffs of clay, sand and gravel left by Ice Age glaciers that are predominant on most of Washington’s Salish Sea, the state’s inland saltwater passages.

Washington’s Sand Sea

Potholes State Park is set in a unique environment dominated by ancient sand dunes and a modern irrigation reservoir.

In the final stages of the most recent ice age, masses of glacial ice repeatedly blocked meltwater drainage, creating huge bodies of impounded water in northern Washington, Idaho and Montana. When the ice dams melted or were breached by the sheer weight of water behind them, gigantic Ice Age floods swept over the landscape.

Turn Island Marine State Park preserves an entire island that lies just offshore from a point on the eastern side of San Juan Island.

A Rocky Island

The San Juan Islands are distinct from most of Puget Sound in that they feature shorelines with exposures of hard bedrock, rather than the bluffs of clay, sand and gravel left by Ice Age glaciers that are predominant on most of Washington’s Salish Sea, the state’s inland saltwater passages.

When we picture an active military fort, we think of soldiers running drills, gun batteries firing, inspections and loading mines into the river. All of those were normal, everyday aspects of life at a Columbia River fort. However, that only tells one side of the story of life at these forts. The other side of the story looks past wartime and focuses on peacetime, when families of soldiers stationed at the fort could come live alongside them.

With so many lakes, rivers, bays, inlets and ocean shores, it’s no wonder boating, paddling, angling and beach camping are popular in Washington, especially when the weather gets warm.

Washington State Parks manages public boat ramps, docks, launches and mooring buoys, and each has its own pass or permit requirements.

Here is your handy guide to help you determine which passes you may need for your favorite water activity:

Burrows Island Marine State Park preserves the majority of a wild-wooded island just offshore of Anacortes. Its forested summit rises nearly 650 feet above the churning waters that surround the island. The bedrock that makes up Burrows Island is part of a larger assemblage of rocks that outcrop on nearby islands and collectively make up an ophiolite sequence, a distinctive formation of rocks formed where the sea floor has spread apart at a tectonic plate boundary.

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.

A Mountain on an Island

The pinnacle of Moran State Park, Mount Constitution, rises 2,407 feet directly from sea level to the second highest point on an oceanic island in the contiguous 48 US states. The rocks that make up the heights of Mount Constitution began as lava erupting on the ocean floor or slowly accumulating sediments formed by skeletons of marine microorganisms, windblown dust and volcanic ash settling to the ocean floor. The pillow basalts, chert and shale seen at rocky exposures in the park are evidence of these events.