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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OLYMPIA — Washington State Parks will perform its annual mooring buoy maintenance at marine state parks in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands in June.
This ongoing maintenance creates safe conditions for boaters who tie up to buoys at marine state parks and recreate or sleep in their vessels.
The following parks will have limited mooring buoy availability during the following timeframes:
Eagle Island is a great place to moor or anchor your boat. Gaze at the splendor of Mount Rainier, relax on the beach and watch harbor seals close to the shore.
Olmstead Place demonstrates homesteader family life, farming history and equipment. Walk the grounds or book a tour to experience life in the late-19th century.
Learn about the marine life in Jarrell Cove State Park. All ages welcome!
This park at the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers is a popular destination for campers, swimmers, boaters, jet skiers and bicyclists.
Flaming Geyser State Park straddles the Green River at the lower end of the Green River Gorge, a unique place where sandstone bedrock, covered by glacial deposits in most of the Puget Sound lowlands, is revealed by the downcutting of the river through the formation. Seams of coal interwoven with the sandstone fueled a mining industry in the local area. On October 4, 1911, coal miner Eugene Lawson drilled a test bore in today’s park area, attempting to locate a coal seam. At 390 feet deep, he found a seam 6.5 feet thick.
Lyons Ferry State Park occupies a place at the drowned confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers, where people have crossed over the rivers for millennia.
Ice Age Floods Carve a Canyon
The walls of the Snake and Palouse River Canyons, and the cliffs which soar over the park are made of basalt lava flows that erupted from vents in southeast Washington. The forces of plate tectonics continue to shape this landscape, wrenching and stressing the vast layered basalt flows that make up Washington’s Columbia Plateau, weakening the rock along subtle fractures.
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is developing a long-range plan for its property located on Miller Peninsula. This 2,800-acre undeveloped park is located in the north Olympic Peninsula, just east of Sequim and north of Highway 101 in Clallam County. The property includes a trail system for hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians through a beautiful second-growth forest.
A rare cluster of old-growth trees creates an inspiring shadow to stand in. Rainbow Falls State Park, 16 miles west of Chehalis, is a walker’s paradise. Miles of loamy trails wind through the forest and along the river, to a small cascade that throws rainbows of spray at the sun.
Among the enchanting San Juan Islands, snag a cliffside campsite for breathtaking views, explore untamed beaches, and glimpse native residents such as deer and otter on Jones Island.
Hike Options
1.5 Lake Trail – Open to all ages
Meet at the Legacy Pavilion at 1pm. The hike will begin there and will go around the lake, 1.5 miles. The trail can be slippery and muddy, so rain/mud boots are heavily recommended.
Forest Bathing Stroll
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.
.5 Mile Kids Hike
Our kids hike begins at the legacy pavilion. The group will be led by staff over the bridge and up through group camp and back toward the dam and back to the legacy pavilion. Along the way plant species and little critters will be discussed.
1.5 Lake Trail – Open to all ages
Meet at the Legacy Pavilion at 1pm. The hike will begin there and will go around the lake, 1.5 miles. The trail can be slippery and muddy, so rain/mud boots are heavily recommended.
Forest Bathing Stroll
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.
.5 Mile Kids Hike
Our kids hike begins at the legacy pavilion. The group will be led by staff over the bridge and up through group camp and back toward the dam and back to the legacy pavilion. Along the way plant species and little critters will be discussed.
Join the fun and run at Steamboat Rock State Park this Jan. 1.
Hidden gun emplacements, expansive parade lawns and restored Victorian-era Officers homes place history front and center at Fort Worden Historical State Park.
Give back to Beacon Rock State Park by volunteering for a fun and rewarding volunteer project including removing invasive species, light trail maintenance, brushing, pruning, and related restoration work.
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.
Get ready for a weekend full of kite-flying fun on June 21st and 22nd, 2025 at the Birch Bay Kids Kite Festival! Bring the whole family and enjoy a vibrant celebration featuring kites soaring over the bay, crafts and a variety of family-friendly entertainment. The event is free to attend, though a Discover Pass is required for parking within Birch Bay State Park.
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.
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.
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.
OLYMPIA — Nisqually State Park will temporarily close beginning Jan. 27 for phased maintenance and construction work as park development continues. The park is expected to reopen to visitors in the fall.
This day use park sits at the end of Ebey Road and is one of the trailheads for the popular Bluff Loop Trail. Featuring dramatic, sweeping views of the Olympic Mountains, visitors can begin the 3.5 mile hike up to the top of the bluff and along the beach – one of the most popular hikes in the state.
On the waters of South Puget Sound, McMicken Island is surrounded by moorage buoys. This tiny island can only be accessed by boat, making it a unique getaway filled with natural splendor.
Saint Edward State Park hugs the shore of Lake Washington, the second largest natural lake in Washington, surpassed in area only by Lake Chelan. Tongues of the great Pleistocene glaciers that excavated the passageways of Puget Sound also dug the nearly 20 mile long basin of Lake Washington. For thousands of years, the lake received fresh water from the Sammamish River at its north end and drained through the Black River into Puget Sound at its south end.
The Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail (also known as the "PTCT") gives hikers, cyclists and equestrians an unconventional way to explore a variety of environments, flora and wildlife while getting a taste of Washington’s scenic diversity. Explore the forested Cascade Mountains to the arid shrub-steppe of eastern Washington. Sitting on the historic Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad corridor, nicknamed the "Milwaukee Road," this 251-mile trail runs in sections from Cedar Falls near North Bend east to the Idaho border.
Beginning June 3, 2024, Kopachuck State Park will close for major construction of roads and buildings, primarily in its upper day-use area. The project is expected to reach completion August of 2025.