Waterfalls aren't exactly common in the desert of central washington, so anyplace you can find the…read moresound of cascading water is special. Finding Summer Falls may be tricky, but the surrounding country roads that cut through coulees and follow abandoned railroad routes are very picturesque, so I would plan to get a little lost and enjoy it. The park is like an oasis at the end of a rocky, dusty driveway: a well-irrigated grassy park with trees, picnic tables, restrooms and a pavilion, all nestled up against Billy Clap Lake and the waterfall. Note: the only water recreation here is fishing: there is no beach and people have been seriously injured from falling on the slippery rocks of the falls. The falls are, however, very accessible if you have two legs and don't mind the "KEEP OUT" signs. If you are looking for desert hikes, there are plenty nearby (including Sun Lakes/Dry Falls state park), but not at Summer Falls. This park is a pretty sedentary place unless you are throwing frisbee or football in the grassy park. These falls and the depth of Billy Clap Lake they flow into were created when an irrigation canal was built to bring water from Banks Lake (itself a product of water diverted from the Grand Coulee Dam) to what was then dry, rocky, sagebrushy non-farmland further south. There is also a tiny, discrete power plant just up the canal from the falls. So the lake is a coulee that is full of water, and the water coming down the falls is what is leftover from the canal after the power plant takes it's share. It sounds pretty industrial, but it's not: the irrigation and power generating functions of the water are invisible at Summer Falls. Summer Falls is a good place--maybe the only place--to enjoy the relaxing sound of a waterfall amidst the area's desert landscape.

Wow. Extremely hard to find, but well worth the wild goose chase…read more This is a waterfall created by one of the many dams in Washington. There's a nice park and swimming area, a little hut for picnics, and bathrooms. You can swim/hike over to the waterfall and even walk behind it (if you blatantly ignore the signs that prohibit this activity, that is)! It was surprising how many people were here, what with how out-of-the-way it was. Glad we found this little gem! Minus one star for having thistles in the grass. My flip-flopped feet did not appreciate.

Very nice and clean campground, hiking and trails nearby. A little bit annoying.Everyone cutting…read morethrough your camp Trying to get to the water all day

This is definitely my favorite state park!…read more My partner and I spent one night camping, though it would've been easy to stay for a longer duration. The camping loops are clean, great picnic tables, fairly clean bathroom/shower building, and friendly rangers. We spent a fair amount of time swimming and floating in the water. It's not too chilly and mostly shallow to the first water buoy. Beware, there's a lot of plant life which can entangle you. Sandy beach. We completed the 1-1.5 mile hike up Steamboat Rock. Stunning view accessed by a sometimes steep and loose rock journey. Go early in the morning and really take your time to stay safe.

So pretty!! I just…read morecame here for the weekend and I love it. The walks here are stunning. The views of chelan. The mountains! The choppy water. Amazing panoramic views all over. Park is currently open but faculties are closed. Still make it a fun little stop on your walk/ run or even a drive. Beautiful views!

Amazing cute little park in the cutest town. Walking distance from our hotel . We walked to rent a…read moreboat from Shoreline at this park one day. Best service! Walked here and swam wit the fam. Lifeguards are super friendly! And they have life jackets at park to borrow - how kind is that. You can walk into the water and swim. Another plus is there are actual bathrooms and they were clean!

This is my favorite place in the whole world. I've been coming here since I was 3 (I'm now 27) and…read moreit's an absolute must to come here in the summer atleast twice. Definitely worth the 3.5 hours drive each time!! I love camping here even though the wasps and mosquitoes are really annoying

Site we booked online was on grass and steep, they didn't hesitate to move us to a much better…read moresite. Had a great meal at their restaurant and we enjoyed drinks and karaoke on Friday night.

Fish Lake is a warm water lake on the southwest side of Spokane. It's in an area with few other…read morelakes so a weekend visit in the summer is not advised unless you like crowds. The best way to explore the lake is on watercraft, canoe, kayak, or paddleboard, to escape the crowds and appreciate the natural weed growth with pine tree backdrop. I quickly fished the boat launch once, catching a fish about the size of my fishing lure, and was about to fish one of their docks when I noticed that a group of teenagers had decided to use the dock as a diving platform to practice cannonballs. Fishing Fish Lake should probably be restricted to early morning hours, before the local teenagers are up.

Wonderful paved road. Hiking, biking or walking. Need discovery pass ( 10 dollars /a day or 30/ a…read moreyear). Small Parking lot off the Cheney spokane road. Beautiful lake and grounds!

Date of Tent Camping: 27/28Aug2024 Tuesday and Wednesday…read more I stayed at Lower Loop #13. Water Spigot in the Men's Restroom Leaking, seems like it's been leaking for a while. There is no Campground Host, maybe provide better amenities or services for them to make it appealing for them to host the place. There are trees, but might not be over your tent site, so you might get sun exposure. Bring an awning to put over the picnic table. It can get hot during the summer days. No privacy, sites are pretty close to each other. This place is good if you need a place to stay while visiting the Grand Coulee Dam. The restrooms were clean and well stocked. The upper loops is like parking your car or tent under apartment covered carports. I would not stay at the upper loop and if you have an RV or a trailer, your rig might not fit under the car ports. Make sure you're certain of your RV size and length. The beach and swimming areas are very nice. The swim platform was 4 feet exposed from the water since the river is low. But you can still enjoy the beach. Good for family and kids. They have nice walking trails. The sign at the front says campground FULL but there are MANY open spots. Please remove the sign to give campers a chance to look for availability instead of giving that we're full impression. If you want the campground occupied, remove that FULL sign before someone else remove it for you. The views from the lower loop of the river is awesome. This place is nice for the views. The whole area is nice, just be ready to be next to your neighbor. Go visit Grand Coulee Visitor Center, go on a power plant tour and go watch the laser show at night. I will be back to stay if I am ever in the area.

We drove thru the entire park. You have tent camping at the top, then RV camping in the middle. At…read morethe bottom at the water is a lot of grass and kids areas. They also have a boat launch. I did not see any hookups for the RV's. Looks like everyone brought their generators and it seemed pretty busy. If you have kids I can only imagine it's great. Lots of area for the. To play and shade down by the beach area.

Just got back from a week at Sun Lakes Park Resort. So nice! Spacious sites for our camping…read moretrailer, perfectly groomed lawns, clean bathrooms and so much to do. Our friends stayed in a cabin so we were able to check that out too. While it wasn't the Ritz it was clean, spacious and comfortable. The resort is close to activities, food and sites. We were a little early in the season for some of the Resort's concessions but we still had access to the store and gift-shop. The day before left the grill opened and we had excellent burgers for lunch. What a great week!

Most horrible cabin rental ever. The cabin and everything…read morein it must be at least 40 years old. The smell of old electrical makes you ill. There was a live bat in our bathroom when we arrived. The door took 5 minutes each time to unlock its handle was so old. The bed was as hard as the floor. A toaster is provided but literally nothing else.. For the price a small coffee pot and microwave or pot/pan should be included. Ridiculously over priced.

Beautifully maintained FEE day use only managed by State Parks, open April-October, with Centennial…read moretrail access year round. Camping was removed in 2022. Very busy boat launch, non-motorized launch areas, fishing areas, swim area and lots of grassy area with tons of picnic tables and a sewer dump. Discover Pass, Boat launch & Dump fees.

A pretty amazing find for RV camping. It is now my favorite place to camp. Love the grassy sites…read more Only water and electric hookups but they have a dump on site. Beautiful lake-side sites. Bring your kayak or fishing boat and have fun on the lake. Only 9 miles from downtown Spokane.

We had a really fun day at Soap Lake, thanks to the great sunshine and perfect temperature. It was…read morealso not crowded at all, but it was a random Wednesday afternoon visit. The park offers amenities: public restrooms in a building and some port-o-potties; outdoor shower to remove the grime (that gets in EVERY crack); covered picnic tables. It also has some grassy areas for recreation and a playground for the kids. Plus, there's a touch of culture, with what professes to be the first human figure sundial. The sand is rocky in and out of the water, and the water is shallow, good for keeping it fails warm and for wading quite a ways out. It was nice to slather ourselves in the clay and let it bake in before rinsing it off. But be warned, the sulfur in the water and clay will keep you and anything you wear smelling even after a thorough washing. So I wouldn't plan a nice evening out after ;-) We look forward to going back for more fun this summer, after we check out some other local beaches.

Soap Lake has 2 public parks on the lake, this one is on the East shore on Highway 17 between…read moreSmokiam Campground and B&B Restaurant. There is a bath house, Beach Access, Picnic Tables and a huge Bronze & Basalt Sundial. It's a great place to stop and play or even plaster yourself in the healing mud from the lake. Swimming is easy as you float easier because of all the minerals in the water. We made a specific trip here during our vacation. Daughter and her kids played in the healing waters while wife read a book in the shade and I took the nap I really needed. Unfortunately, I took too long of a nap and missed laying in the water :( I guess I'll have to go back next year. This is the 3rd time we've come here and it is always worth a repeat visit when you are in the area.

It's not the landscape, the wildlife, the trails or the views. It's the people. Most are…read moreperfectly fine and are out there to camp, hike, and fish for the sake of the activities. However, there is a percentage that is there because it's free and remote while still being accessible to a town where they can get their drug of choice. You'll recognize them by the ancient, filthy, motorhomes. My son was hiking with his girlfriend when they were approached by one of these "campers" who asked if they had any fentanyl to sell! Wow! Is there no where to escape this scrounge? Anywhere?

Mileage: estimated about 10 miles total (2 miles to where we set up our tents, then we hiked a loop…read moreof about 6 miles, then 2 miles back to the car the next day) Backpacked: April 16-17, 2016 This past weekend a group of us did an overnight backpack trek to Ancient Lakes. 3 first timers backpacking and it turned out to be an awesome trip! We had some problems trying to find directions out to the place, so here's directions from my personal experience. Directions: we stayed in Quincy the night before, so we took the 28 to Whitetail Road. Made a left on Whitetail from the 28, then a right on road 9 NW. follow road 9 NW and it turns into Ancient Lakes Rd NW. At the end of the road, you'll find the west parking lot. I am not sure how to get to the east parking lot. There's a lot of parking here, when we got there by 11 am, it was really crowded but we still found a spot. (When you are on Whitetail Rd, it might look like you are just driving through farms, but buried in there, there's Ancient Lakes!) There is a port-o-potty at the trail head on the west side. Trail head: is well marked, we hiked in about 2 miles and got to the lakes and the rolling grass area where you can set up tent where ever. There are some man made fire rings scattered through out the area. Hiking: After we picked a spot and set up camp, we hiked a loop around the lakes. We started towards the waterfall. It was a scramble up the side of the waterfall, like a class 4 rock scramble lol. Loose rocks, loose footing. From there, we went pass that waterfall and onto the backside where the east parking lot is. Which there's another waterfall there, and there's also camp spots there too. We looped around, it wasn't too hard. We estimated this part of the hike to be around 6 miles round trip back to our tents. Lots of people camping, we counted about 50 tents, then you estimate about 2/per tent, so like 100 people were out here! But you still are able to find solitude. We came across 3 snakes, an owl, and a marmot. Easy trek, not very hilly at all. Good for first time backpackers. The area can be explored in a day. I found this site useful: https://www.theoutbound.com/washington/backpacking/ancient-lakes-day-hike-or-backpack