Washington Parks and Recreation Areas with Rock Climbing

Glacier capped mountains, wild Pacific coast and magnificent stands of old-growth forests, including temperate rain forests -- at Olympic National Park, you can find all three. About 95% of the park is designated wilderness, which further protects these diverse and spectacular ecosystems. Olympic is also known for its biological diversity. Isolated for eons by glacial ice, and later the waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Peninsula has developed its own distinct array of plants and animals. Eight kinds of plants and 15 kinds of animals are found on the peninsula but no where else on Earth.

Phone: (360) 565-3130   Price Range: $5 - $10   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Port Angeles   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Park   Activities: Backpacking, Biking / Bicycling, Birding, Boating and Watercraft, Cross Country Skiing, Downhill Skiing, Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Swimming, Whitewater Rafting, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs, Snowshoeing, Star Gazing   Details Provided By: Olympic National Park

Ross Lake National Recreation Area is the most accessible part of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Ross Lake National Recreation Area (118,000 acres, 47,200 hectares) is the corridor for scenic Washington State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, and includes three reservoirs: 12,000-acre (4,800-hectare) Ross Lake, 910-acre (364-hectare) Diablo Lake, and 210-acre (84-hectare) Gorge Lake -- water gateways to more remote areas. Ringed by mountains, it offers many outdoor recreation opportunities along the upper reaches of the Skagit River, between the north and south units of North Cascades National Park. Information about Ross Lake NRA can be found on the North Cascades National Park web pages.

Phone: 360/856-5700   Price Range: $0 - $5   Open Season: N/A   Camping: No
Nearest Popular City: Sedro-Woolley   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Park   Activities: Boating and Watercraft, Cross Country Skiing, Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Hunting and Shooting, Rock Climbing   Details Provided By: Ross Lake National Recreation Area

Here the beautiful Stehekin Valley, with a portion of fjordlike Lake Chelan, adjoins North Cascades National Park. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (62,000 acres, 24,800 hectares) rests in a glacially carved trough in the Cascades Range. Lake Chelan is one of the nation's deepest, reaching a depth of 1,500 feet (450 meters). It offers boating, fishing, and lakeshore camping. The average width is less than two miles (3.2 kilometers), but Lake Chelan extends 50 miles (83 kilometers) into the Cascade Mountains. The lake's northernmost four miles (6.4 kilometers) are in the National Recreation Area, including the remote community of Stehekin and the Stehekin River Valley. This is a remote part of North Cascades National Park Service Complex. See the national park homepage, Focus on Stehekin and the North Cascades Challenger publications for more information about visiting Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and vicinity.

Phone: 360/856-5700   Price Range: $5 - $10   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Sedro-Woolley   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Park   Activities: Backpacking, Birding, Boating and Watercraft, Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Hunting and Shooting, Rock Climbing, Wildlife Watching, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs   Details Provided By: Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

Few fully know the intense and rugged beauty of the North Cascades jagged peaks, deep valleys, cascading waterfalls and over 700 glaciers. North Cascades National Park Service Complex contains the heart of this mountainous region in three park units which are all managed as one and include North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. Each area offers different experiences and contains wilderness. A vast majority of the park complex, over 93%, is managed as the Stephen T. Mather Wilderness, which was established by Congress in 1988. The wilderness area was named in honor of the first director of the National Park Service.

Phone: 360/856-5700   Price Range: $0 - $5   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Sedro-Woolley   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Park   Activities: Backpacking, Biking / Bicycling, Birding, Boating and Watercraft, Cross Country Skiing, Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Whitewater Rafting, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Nature Walks, Interpretive Programs, Snowshoeing, Star Gazing   Details Provided By: North Cascades National Park

Mount Rainier National Park is anticipating an early spring opening this year although a spring snow storm has delayed the original opening date for Chinook & Cayuse Passes. The park remains open with normal winter closures with the following exceptions: Westside and Ricksecker Roads are now open but may close due to snowfall. Due to record low snowfall Paradise snowplay is closed for the season and snowshoe walks are cancelled. THE PARK REMAINS OPEN to snowshoeing, snow boarding and cross-country skiing where snow levels permit.

Phone: 360-569-2211   Price Range: N/A   Open Season: N/A   Camping: Yes
Nearest Popular City: Ashford   Nearest Lake or River: N/A   Park Type: National Historic Site   Activities: Backpacking, Biking / Bicycling, Cross Country Skiing, Downhill Skiing, Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Rock Climbing, Sightseeing, Wildlife Watching, Auto Touring, Snowshoeing   Details Provided By: Mount Rainier National Park