Water Safety Reminders as Boating Season Begins
OLYMPIA – May 15, 2024 – Recreational boating is a popular pastime in Washington. In fact, nearly 225,000 vessels were registered in 2023. When you include Washington residents who own at least one canoe, kayak, rowboat or stand-up paddle board, boats and boaters are everywhere! During the month of May, those who participate in boating activities (and those who don’t!) are encouraged to keep safety in mind.
Recreation is not without risk. The chilly waters of the Pacific Northwest can be unforgiving, and safety must be on the minds of everyone who plays in and around Washington’s waterways…
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11/20/2023
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Discover Pass Program has designated the Discover Pass free days for 2024. On these days, visitors will not need a Discover Pass to park a vehicle at a Washington state park or on lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
The 2024 Discover Pass free days are:
Monday, Jan. 1 - First Day Hikes and New Year’s Day
Monday, Jan. 15 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Saturday, March 9 - Billy Frank Junior’s Birthday
Tuesday, March 19 - State Parks’ 111th Birthday
Monday,… Read more
11/16/2023
OLYMPIA — The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission invites the public to nominate winter sports enthusiasts for the agency’s snowmobile advisory committee. Three positions are available statewide to snowmobilers, and one is available statewide to individuals involved in non-motorized winter sports.
The Snowmobile Advisory Committee is comprised of one snowmobile enthusiast from each of the state’s six represented winter recreation regions. The Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Association of Counties each have… Read more
11/14/2023
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks) has identified 35 public recreational mooring buoys across western Washington that are at risk of breaking in the future.
Starting this week, Parks will close these buoys, which the agency plans to replace. Even though individual buoys will close, the impacted parks will still have other mooring buoys available for use.
Parks maintains 259 mooring buoys at 40 parks across Puget Sound, Hood Canal, the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas and San Juan Islands. Of these parks, 16 will be affected by partial buoy closures. They are: … Read more
11/06/2023
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its regularly scheduled commission meeting virtually on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
Commission meeting items include a camping inventory update from Parks Director Diana Dupuis that covers use and trends at existing camping areas. The Commission will also hear a financial update and discuss its December planning meeting.
This is an online meeting, and all Parks staff and commissioners will be attending virtually. The public is invited to watch, but no public comment will be taken. The Commission will provide a meeting space for the… Read more
11/01/2023
Washington Sno-Park permits are now on sale. The State Parks Winter Recreation Program manages over 130 recreation sites, or Sno-Parks, across the state for recreators to enjoy during the winter season. Parking at these sites requires special permits.
Seasonal or daily Sno-Park permits can be purchased online or through a licensed vendor.
Snowmobilers also must register their snowmobile through the Washington Department of Licensing and receive a free Sno-park parking permit.
In addition to the seasonal permit, a special sticker is required to park at several high-use Sno-Parks, including… Read more
10/24/2023
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has officially launched a redesigned and improved parks.wa.gov website.
The new, refreshed website has a modern, inclusive and accessible design. The refresh comes after many years of feedback from parks visitors that they struggled to find information on the website, especially when using a mobile device. Nearly 400 current and potential Washington Parks visitors provided feedback on the design of the new parks.wa.gov website.
New features on the website include:
Find the parks you want to visit. You can now search for parks based… Read more
10/10/2023
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will hold its regular hybrid commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, at the Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop.
The public is welcome to attend in-person or online.
Agenda items include:
Request for approval to enter into a management agreement for Scooteney Park in Franklin County,
Request for approval to update the long-term boundary of Pearrygin Lake State Park,
Development of recreation and Conservation Office grants for the 2025-2027 biennium,
Financial update, including the 2021-23 biennium final financial report, the… Read more
10/09/2023
The Goldendale Observatory, perched on the Columbia Plateau in the town of Goldendale, will celebrate its 50th year of operations this weekend.
Washington State Parks, which acquired the observatory in 1980, will host an event at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 to mark the occasion. The family-friendly event, which is free and open to community members and astronomy fans, will feature light refreshments, speakers, educational programming, live views of the sun streamed from the solar telescope to big screens and replays of that morning’s annular eclipse.
A Discover Pass is required to park at… Read more
09/22/2023
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks) believes the outdoors is for everyone and continues to make strides to remove barriers for visitors and staff alike. In recognition of these efforts, Parks has earned the Rainbow Alliance and Inclusion Network’s (RAIN) 2023 Outstanding Agency Award for creating and improving a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ state employees.
Each year, RAIN, a statewide business resource group (BRG), asks state employees to nominate state agencies that are leading the way in this work. Parks was one of three recipients this… Read more
09/13/2023
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks) invites the public to participate in conversations about a potential expansion of Riverside State Park.
In partnership with Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (Conservancy) and the Spokane Tribe of Indians, Parks is pursuing an opportunity to acquire part of a 1,000-acre parcel known as “Glen Tana” for the environmental stewardship of riparian and upland habitat, expanded recreational access in a high-demand and near urban location and support of salmon reintroduction efforts.
The Glen Tana property was purchased by the… Read more