Fantastic recreation area. Well kept up by the staff and Rangers. Loved watching the occasional…read morefisherman's boat drift by. And as a very partime trainspotter, the few trains across the river added to the experience. Only (slight) drawn back were the noisy (and most definitely speeding) motorcycles and folks with more $ than brains racing down the road by Big Pines.

Even though it's not a five star campground...I have taken my husband and son here every year for…read morethe past five years. Why would we endure the heat, wind, no water, and sometimes site with no tree or shade? Because the canyon is gorgeous and the float is unbeatable in WA. Only go if you can get sites 1-5. The sun sets behind the hills earlier so you get some shade there. But God forbid you go on a 107F day like we did last August...after one dày of floating and sitting in our camp chairs in the river (our site had no trees and only our canopy) we gave up and drove home because the heat in the tent was unbearable. A couple years we only took one vehicle and managed to hitch hike from Big Pines back north to the vehicle to get it after floating (since the only road out goes along the river). Some years we take two vehicles, which is best. If you are up for an adventure or maybe you have an RV, you might try coming here to camp!

Christina and His brother are great people and are very friendly. Loved the horseback ride this…read morewinter with amazing views of frozen lakes around their ranch.

My wife and I felt adventurous and called up Kinship trail rides. It was amazing. Christina took us…read moreon an intermediate trail ride (first time on a horse for me) off Watt canyon road. Her horses where beautiful and very responsive. We will be calling her every time we come up to Suncadia. Thanks again Christina!

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

Rusty S has kind of said it all but Vantage isn't much of a town at all. It's more of just a rest…read morestop to stretch your legs and get something to eat or take in the gorgeous view of the Columbia river. They have one has station and I believe two restaurants. Other than that and a small motel/campground there isn't much else. It's not far from two state parks though; Wanapum and Gingko. It's a nice place to stop though if you get kind of bored on you drive on I-90.

Not much more than a wide spot in the road at the intersection of I-90 and the Columbia River,…read moreVantage makes a convenient rest stop on road trips through Eastern Washington. There are a few gas stations, a couple of restaurants, and a public boat launch. Just across the bridge (Eastbound on I-90) there's a turnoff for the Wild Horses Monument. No services there, but a fantastic view!

I was with a large group, service was excellent, food was very good. The view is great and decor is…read moreappropriate for the setting. A unique location with great food.

Fabulous food here! Fish n chips and burger were AMAZING!!! Cocktails are out of this world as…read morewell. Service was fantastic, We will be back!

There are two parts to this park, really. The first is the center to the right, which comes AFTER…read morethe much more visible gift shop surrounded by dinosaur statues (FYI). The center was closed when we were there. It's worth stopping there, though, because down to the right are some preserved petroglyphs - very cool. Not to mention river views. The other part is two miles further down the road, also on the right. It looks like...low, grassy hills. In fact, there is a network of trails (which one visitor learned to their chagrin that you CANNOT take a baby stroller on), with petrified tree trunks every so often. The reason this is not five stars is the somewhat deceptive marketing - that you will see a "forest" of petrified trees. No, you will not. You will see every so often an imprisoned tree trunk inside of a rusty cage - and that sounds worse than it is because it's actually really fun, like a scavenger hunt, to spy each cage ahead of you on the slope and wonder what type of tree it will be - each is labeled by tree type when you get up to it. You might even see a petrified gingko.

This is a great little self-guided tour where you walk a trail and view actual petrified wood in…read moreit's natural setting where it was found. Unfortunately thieves keep trying to break it and steal chunks of it so it has to be caged off like being locked up in a jail. The cage really obscures photographs but it's totally understandable since we are in a world full of thieves in undesirables. You will be up in a beautiful open desert setting. It is not beautiful like a forest but it is beautiful to see another type of landscape created for us.

Nice stop off I-90 if you need to stretch your legs and take a little walk. The interpretive…read morecenter itself has a movie showing how the petrified forest (petrified wood) came about. There are some neat displays, maybe about 10 minutes worth of looking. Great view of the Columbia and the Vantage bridge. You do need a discovery pass to park here, but you can buy a day pass or an annual pass inside from the Park Ranger. Also, a little ways down the street, there is a 3/4 mile short walk through the actual forest, and longer (3+ mile) trails which are signed.. Clean bathrooms and a friendly park ranger make this a nice little break from the car!

Ellensburg Water Fitness, Memorial Pool…read more Having just turned 60, I decided to replace my existing strenuous exercise of "NONE" with three evening classes of water fitness a week. The teacher, Kim Grant, is the Real Deal. She is a Force of Nature. Her class is serious exercise expertly designed for the water. Call it "water aerobics" at your own peril: Kim's approach uses the resistance of water to build strength, endurance, and fitness. It's also part movement, muscle toning, exercise philosophy -- and music appreciation! With over 20+ years of experience Kim has developed hundreds of completely original and highly inventive methods of teaching water fitness that take full advantage of what the pool environment has to offer. When I say "hundreds" I'm not kidding: in the 20 classes since I began, there hasn't been one class that is a "repeat." Sure, there are a handful of basic routines that I'm only now getting somewhat proficient at, but each class integrates the familiar with novel moves that will leave you surprised you still have muscles that (apparently) have never been exercised. Often, the class has a "theme". For example, one recent class focused on lower body. Another was a "deep water" class, where we used water weights and the exercises required that our feet did not touch the bottom of the pool. The goal of one class was to not get any water on our face or hair -- we needed to keep our core tight and controlled. For many evening classes, the overhead lights are turned off, leaving the underwater lights to suffused the pool with a calming glow. Every class is a fresh experience -- NEVER boring! Every class has a new soundtrack. Kim teaches 4 daytime classes and 3 evening classes each week, and every one has a different playlist, usually crafted that day. I'm told she hasn't repeated a playlist in 20 years. Her taste in music is broad and encyclopedic, and I frequently discover new artists or remarkable covers of songs and request her playlist, which she is happy to provide. Every class ends with around 7 minutes of warm-down exercises and stretches that feel SO GOOD after going full tilt for 50+ minutes. The class is approximately 90% women and many of these ladies are older than me and have seriously toned muscles. Several have been in this class for 10+ years! All appear to be in excellent aerobic shape and easily outpace me -- I can barely keep up with them! Kim is a teacher with deep concern for her students. She somehow manages to guide not only the inexperienced students (like ME) but also the students with 10+ years that need a refresher on technique. Kim works hardest of all, always pushing her own limits and asking her students to challenge themselves and consider "what they need" from a particular exercise and "what they want to get out of each class." Above all, Kim genuinely has FUN teaching, and her attitude is infectious. If you have always thought about improving your health and (likely) extending your life, this is a great way to do that. Just come expecting to work!

Just reopened - great place to spend 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Free swim was from 1pm-3, not…read moretoo crowded. Diving board in the deep end (12' at its deepest) and 2 lanes for lap swimming. The free swim area is fun for kids and grown ups, and there's a separate 2'6" kiddie pool. They close the hot tub on Saturday for cleaning, so that's a bummer.