Trip 7: The Cascade Loop (9/22 - 9/24)

It's marketed as the 'Cascade Loop,' but whatever you call it, it's one of the most beautiful drives you'll find anywhere. My chauffer (thanks Dad) and I set out over the North Cascades highway and hit our first park early Friday afternoon. I didn't exactly have high expectations for Rasar State Park, located between Sedro Woolley and Concrete, but the neatly-manicured park on the banks of the Skagit River was a nice surprise. Rasar and Rockport State Park, just a few miles east on Highway 20, offer excellent bald eagle sighting opportunities, in additional to some prime
old-growth forest tracts.
Crossing the North Cascades, we passed through Pearrygin Lake near Winthrop and started the next morning at Alta Lake with a quick round of golf and touring of the park next door. Next it was on to Lake Chelan and Twenty-Five Mile Creek, both on the south shore of Washington's largest lake. Lake Chelan offers numerous campsites and packs in the people on the more developed section of the lake while Twenty-Five Mile Creek looks out on the steep barren shoreline of the lake. Heading south toward Wenatchee, Daroga and Lincoln rock both offer nice grassy areas and shoreline on the Columbia. The same can be said for Wenatchee Confluence, which sits at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers and is ringed by a light industry section of Wenatchee.
Heading home east on Highway 2, Lake Wenatchee proved to be one of the largest and most developed parks on the trip -- and one of the most scenic. I only managed a few photos of the fog-shrouded lake, but check out the 2007 Washington State Parks calendar, which features Lake Wenatchee on its cover. While you're at it, pick up a calendar, which is very well done.
Up to 96 parks now and have completed all parks east of the Cascades.

Next trip: The San Juan Islands and our first trip with some new camping gear. We're off to Moran (Orcas Island), Lime Kiln (San Juan Island) and Spencer Spit (Lopez Island) state parks.

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Trip 6: Mount Pilchuck (9/17)

With the nice weather winding down, I decided I better head up Mount Pilchuck before things really got nasty. Mount Pilchuck State Park is accessible via the Mountain Loop highway 10 miles east of Granite Falls, and the main attraction is the 3 mile trail to the fire lookout at the summit.

Frankly, I'm a bit embarrassed to say I've never been up Pilchuck. As a Washington native and someone who enjoys a good hike, I'm not quite sure how I've missed this one. Mount Pilchuck is one of the more popular trails in greater Seattle area. It's close (1.5 hours from Seattle), relatively short (6 miles round trip) and the views from the summit are spectacular. With an elevation gain of 2200 feet, it's also a pretty decent workout.

I got a decent day Sunday and hit the trailhead just after 8:00. Although relatively short, the summit trail's grade and traversal over several rock fields doesn't necessarily make for a casual stroll. The trail initially winds its way up through the forest and zig-zags through various boulder fields, which are quite impressive. To reach the fire lookout at the summit, you'll have to scramble over a series of large boulders that can get pretty slippery. The 360 degree view at the top is definitely worth the trip. On a clear day the cascade peaks can be seen, as well as Puget Sound and the surrounding islands.

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Trip 5: Kitsap & Olympic Peninsulas (9/9 - 9/10)

Trip 5 was all about the ‘beaches.’ 22 in all – the lone exception being Anderson Lake south of Port Townsend. Trip 5 was also all about the peninsulas (Olympic, Kitsap, Key), islands (Bainbridge, Hartstene, Marrowstone) and forts (Ward, Flagler, Warden, Townsend). From the southern reaches of Puget Sound (Tolmie near Olympia) to the northern guardian of the sound (Fort Warden at Fort Townsend), the number of parks in this area is pretty amazing.
I started out the circular trip at Tolmie, which is a meticulously-maintained park located 5 miles north of I-5 near Lacey. This is one of those parks you’ve seen the sign for on I-5 but have probably never been to. Tolmie’s a good spot to take a break, explore the beach or walk on one of its forest trails.
Swinging around Olympia and heading north up highway 101, I dropped into Potlatch, Triton Cove and Dosewallips on my way up to Sequim Bay near Port Angeles. I thought it was rather amusing that the only rain I got on my trip was at this park located in rain-shadow country. The sky cleared as I made my way into Port Townsend and the compound known as Fort Warden. Located in Port Townsend, Fort Warden almost feels like a resort with all the different attractions such as museums, aquariums, beaches and tennis courts. It’s billed as a conference center and offers a pretty good variety of activities for kids and adults alike.
Crossing the Hood Canal bridge I popped into Kitsap Memorial, where I caught my second wedding of my park circuit (Peace Arch was wedding #1). Crossing over to Bainbridge Island, Fay-Bainbridge gave me my first view of the Seattle skyline from a state park. I couldn’t decide whether this was a good or a bad thing. It kind of felt wrong.
The next morning I started at Illahee (one of those “I can’t believe I’m actually in a city” parks) and then criss-crossed west to Scenic Beach and then back east to Manchester near Port Orchard. Scenic Beach might have been my favorite park of the trip – fairly remote, very well-maintained, heavily wooded and great water views. Bonus points for an attractive older house serving as Seabeck’s community center and a replica of an old small wood cabin.
Favorite #2 was probably Jarrell Cove located on the northern tip of Harstene Island. Nearest town? Ummm… Grapeview. You get the point. This marine park was pretty small but had a great dock area set in a series of inlets with stunning green water.
I rounded out my trip on the Key Peninsula and then ended at Kopachuck near Gig Harbor. Kopachuck has my nod for the nicest, most accessible (to the Seattle/Tacoma area) campground – nice wooded spots with plenty of privacy.

Next trip: the weekend of 9/23 as I’m off to north central Washington -- over the North Cascades and south to Wenatchee.

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Trip 4: Eastern Washington - Corner to Corner (9/1 - 9/4)

Let’s just call Trip 4 “The Big One.” Covering 1,750 miles, 28 parks and every county in eastern Washington made this a long Labor Day weekend. We ripped through the I-90 corridor on our way to Spokane and knocked off parks in Ellensburg and Vantage. Ginkgo, on the north side of I-90 at Vantage, was a tiny patch of meticulously maintained park on a cliff overlooking the Columbia and the bridge at Vantage. The view, rock paintings and good interpretive center make this a worthwhile stop right off the freeway. A few miles south, Wanapum is one of those state parks that follows a successful formula: green oasis in the heart of desert country, access to a major body of water and great vistas. Steamboat Rock, Sun Lakes, Bridgeport and Curlew Lake are just a few of the other parks in this mold.
After quick trips to Potholes and the Columbia Plateau Trail (outside of Sprague), we rolled into Spokane and headed to Riverside State Park. On the outskirts of Spokane, Riverside provides some great scenery as the Spokane River carves its way through the western edge of Spokane. One last side trip up Mount Spokane, which offered incredible views, and day 1 was in the books.
Day 2 I was on my own in the very pretty northeast corner of the state. I was the only person in Crawford State Park at 8:00 in the morning, but a deer was there to greet me. I’ll have to make it back one day to see the caves, which are only open for guided tours. I took highway 20 west and hit Curlew Lake and Osoyoos Lake, and then I visited Conconully, which was serving as a base for the Tripod firefighting effort. The smoke wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, but there was a haze over the entire eastern half of the state the whole weekend. Driving south and then west, I stopped by my sentimental favorite – Bridgeport State Park, which is perched on a hill overlooking Chief Joseph Dam. With a golf course adjacent to the park and nice camping and beach access, it’s hard to believe people still haven’t discovered this place. At the other end of the spectrum is Steamboat Rock and Sun Lakes – my last two parks for the day. With great water access, these parks always seem to draw a crowd, and it was no different this weekend.
We started day 3 by leaving Spokane and heading south all the way to Field’s Spring in the extreme southeast corner of the state. Once again, we pretty much had the place to ourselves, so if you want to get away from it all and get your nature fix, Crawford and Field’s Spring are just the ticket. Palouse Falls was definitely the most impressive natural sight of the weekend – even at 104 degrees as we stepped out of the car. The drive to the falls from the south (via Starbuck) was particularly scenic. Heading home, a side trip to Fort Simcoe (worth the trip), Lake Easton and Olallie (nice hike to Twin Falls) rounded out the weekend.

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