Looking for a vacation close to home? Washington State Parks offers these five ideas for making memories.
Beach vaycay, PNW style:Cama Beach and Camano Island – Leave your bathing suit home for these beaches. Pack puffy jackets and wind shells. Sunrise and sunset feature alpenglow over Saratoga Passage and the Olympic mountains beyond. Have breakfast or brunch at the Cama Beach Café and take a beach walk to Camano Island State Park.Joseph Whidbey,Fort Ebey and Deception Pass – You can’t go wrong with Whidbey Island beaches. Deception Pass features bluffs overlooking Puget Sound, a stroll across the famous high bridge, lighthouses and more. Timing is everything at Joseph Whidbey and Fort Ebey, where sunsets are famous when weather allows.Walk among wildflowers:

Steamboat Rock – Wildflowers begin to pop in April in the Grand Coulee. You’ll find a mix of balsamroot, lupine and others on the hike up to Table Rock.

Columbia Hills – Lupine and balsamroot carpet the hills, peaking in April and May, but often starting in March. Go on a midweek morning for easier parking. Check out nearby Stonehenge Memorial and Maryhill Museum in the Central Columbia Gorge while you’re there.

Future trip: If wildflowers own your heart, or you’re not free until May or June, put Ginkgo Petrified Forest and Fields Spring on your list. If you’re into blooming heritage gardens, pack a May or June picnic and visit Olmstead Place.

Soak up some Vitamin D on the eastside:

Sun Lakes – Dry Falls – Hike or bike through Ice-Age flood carved scablands, paddle Deep Lake, fish Sun Lakes, explore Lenore Caves and learn geologic history at the Dry Falls Visitor Center. Catch the sunrise at the historic Dry Falls overlook.

Daroga – Sprawl on green banks of Lake Entiat, walk amidst sagebrush or paddle in a mellow lagoon. Extend your stay by booking a cabin at neighboring Lincoln Rock.

Fields Spring – Set in the Blue Mountains of Southeastern Washington, Fields Spring can retain snow into March, so pack snowshoes or arrange to rent them at the park office. Hike to epic views under big, often blue skies and book Tamarack cabin overnight.

Ride the trails or a wave:

Squilchuck – Mountain bikers, put this park on your list for summer. Fat tire bikers can ride in the snow until early May at Squilchuck State Park. Novice riders can cut their teeth in the beginner’s area.

Pearrygin Lake – The Methow Valley offers hiking, fishing and road biking, or fat tire biking in heavy snow years, and Pearrygin Lake is no exception. The campground is scheduled to reopen for spring April 5.

Westport Light – Surf’s up, but don’t forget your thick wetsuit, because the ocean is… refreshing! Warm up and sleep well afterward in a cabin at Twin Harbors or yurt at Grayland Beach a few miles away.

Snuggle up in a cabin (or yurt) and relax:

Dosewallips – Nestle into a cabin where the Dosewallips River meets Hood Canal in the east Olympic mountains. You might wake up to the resident elk herd walking by.

Kanaskat-Palmer – Pack board games, blankets and books, and let Kanaskat-Palmer’s forested yurts on the Green River near Auburn lull you into rest mode.

Use these tips to plan an unforgettable spring break and let us know how it went. — This article and photos courtesy Washington State Parks. Visit Adventure Awaits, WA | Official Website for ongoing tips and information.