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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Join the Wenatchee Valley Astronomy Club under the stars where they will answer your deepest cosmic questions, dive into the depths of the cosmos, explore our small harmonious Solar System, and massive chaotic celestial objects.
If there is snow we will be taking a beginner snowshoe walk through the campground. If there is no snow we will take a easy walk through the campground and day use area. Looking for traces of local wildlife and discussing the history of the park and how it came to be. Once the walk is complete, there will be hot cocoa and snacks provided for enjoyment.
Enjoy a 2-hour guided snowshoe hike.
Gather with us at the Upper Campground Amphitheater for ranger-led talks about the park.
OLYMPIA – Lake Wenatchee State Park has acquired a new Fixed Frame Beach Wheelchair that allows visitors with mobility needs to access the park’s sandy lakeshore. The chair’s large, wide wheels make it more stable and maneuverable in soft, shifting sand and uneven terrain.
As you enter Sun Lakes-Dry Falls, you may feel like you’re on another planet. The park is surrounded by one of Washington’s most striking and historically significant landscapes.
Lake Lenore Caves State Park Heritage Site offers visitors a window into the formation of the Grand Coulee and the lives of people who may have spent time here thousands of years ago.
This social camping park pulses with life in the summer. Generations of families return to the blue lake every year; they even try to book the same campsite they've used since the 1960s and '70s. But, while they'll jockey online for their favorite spot, veteran Chelan-goers happily share this gem with first-timers, and many lifelong friendships begin there.
Visitors will see intermittent closures on three trails this summer
ISSAQUAH – Beginning this week, visitors will see construction activity on lower Issaquah Creek at Lake Sammamish State Park.
Enjoy the 1-mile forested hike around the lake to learn how it was formed and developed, and about the native plants and animals that call the park home. The perfect shady outdoor activity for a warm summer morning.
OLYMPIA – May 3, 2022 – On May 1, Washington State Parks began managing more than 15 recreation sites owned by Avista Utilities. The properties sit around the Spokane River, Nine Mile Dam, Lake Spokane and Long Lake Dam.
According to a new five-year agreement, State Parks will operate the Avista sites as part of Riverside State Park. The land parcels, which total 2,000 acres, include six trailheads, two water access sites, two overlooks,10 boat-in campsites and one picnic area on Lake Spokane.
The trailheads are:
The Boring Volcanic Field
Battle Ground Lake is a part of a geologic formation called the Boring Volcanic Field (named for the town of Boring, OR), but the stories revealed in its bedrock are actually quite interesting!
In the Pacific Northwest, the slow-moving subduction of the oceanic crust of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate underneath North American continent produces molten magma that rises toward the surface. Sometimes, the magma reaches the surface and produces a volcanic explosion (like the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980).
"Its grim black walls of basalt frown across a broken chain of linear lakes, some of them as wide as the coulee floor ….. potholes a hundred feet deep in rock, dry cataracts one hundred to four hundred feet high, and river bars one hundred to two hundred feet thick … under the present semiarid climate it lies naked of forest mantle, every detail of its form clearly displayed." -J Harlen Bretz, Geologist
What do all fish have in common besides being water dwellers? That's the thousand-dollar question that will be answered. Plus, learn the specifics of fishing at Battle Ground Lake.
OLYMPIA – March 7, 2023 – Lake Sammamish State Park is one of the most popular parks in the Seattle area for families and communities to come together and enjoy a dose of nature near the city. That's why, in just a few weeks, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission plans to begin work on several improvements and upgrades that will revitalize the Sunset Beach area.
Come on out and camp in Schafer's new campground, join the park's centennial commemoration event and do some fishing.
Plan your winter adventures with help from our winter schedule. Learn about scheduled winter closures for campgrounds, boat launches and day-use areas in Washington state parks.
Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, is a Japanese practice of immersing in nature for health and wellness benefits. The hike will begin at the Legacy Pavilion. The walk is a gentle easy stroll through the park and group camp.
Meet Mindy's GIANT (and lovable) horses! Mindy and friends will teach us how to be safe around horses and near the horse trails at Battle Ground Lake.
Concessionaires offer many services that State Parks cannot, in most cases, provide. Concessions range from food service and campground stores to recreational equipment rentals, equestrian experiences, guided tours and glamping.
While you are out for a stroll in the park or just around the campground, be sure to stop by our Pop-up Exhibits to learn more about the park! Exhibits will rotate between natural resource and history topics.
The day will begin at the Dry Falls Visitor Center for an overview of the geology of Dry Falls & the Ice Age Flood National Geologic Trail, plus a tour of the visitor center. (40 minutes) Then hike a 1.5-mile looping hike through the winter wonderland of desert sagebrush and rolling shrub-steppe south of the Dry Falls Visitor Center. Because the weather and road conditions vary, I will make the determination of the "best trail" to hike and travel on.
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.
For a walk on the beach, clamming or camping, Ocean City State Park is the place to go. Smell the salty air, watch the sandpipers, build a sandcastle and fly kites on the soft sand. Relax around a campfire in the forested campground to end a fun-filled beach day.
This unassuming park has a welcoming campground in a thicket of trees, and its forested creek was recently restored for salmon health. Local elk herds roam through the area, and pileated woodpeckers are busy with their beaks, tapping out rhythms on the trees.