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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.

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.

Lake Easton State Park is a popular recreation site that lies at the nexus of historic travel and transportation routes that have been used for millennia.

Twin Harbors State Park gets its name from its location between the “twin harbors” of Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay.

South Whidbey State Park owes its preservation in no small part to a group of citizens who put their bodies on the line for its protection.

Beacon Rock State Park centers on the prominent rock monolith that rises more than 840 feet above the Columbia River, but the park’s landscapes and stories extend well beyond the rock.

Boring Volcanics 

Beacon Rock is the core of an extinct volcanic cinder cone that erupted about 57,000 years ago. It is part of a volcanic feature geologists call the Boring Volcanic Field (named for the town of Boring, OR), as is the explosive caldera featured in nearby Battle Ground Lake State Park.

By Holly Sproul (Parks Forms Manager & Web Specialist) & Nephew Evan (Age 9) 

For my family, campouts have typically centered around boating and fishing. This summer, my sister and I took my 9-year-old nephew Evan to state parks in different areas of Washington. Here is our just-over-a-week campout experience with Evan’s insight and tips – and some tips from the adults as well.  

Pacific Beach State Park has a long history as a place for travelers to rest as they journey along Washington’s Pacific Ocean coastline.

Indigenous Lands

The park lies within the traditional territories of Coast Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Quinault Indian Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.

Ethnographers reported that the mouth of Joe Creek in today’s Pacific Beach State Park served as a “rest stop” for Indigenous people traveling along the coast between trading centers. 

Among Lake Sylvia State Park’s peaceful trails and campsites are nearly hidden stories of ventures to wrest timber and hydroelectricity from the landscape.

Indigenous Lands

Lake Sylvia State Park lies within the traditional territories of Coast Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.