After living in Western Washington for over ten years, we finally decided to follow the sun this summer to Eastern Washington. We just had an extended 4-day weekend, so planned a road trip that would cover as much ground as possible (actually, this was a last minute decision so we didn't have time to make campground reservations). We enjoyed our trip thoroughly. We drove along the very scenic North Cascades Highway, and then through the forests of the Okanogan Highlands, setting up camp each afternoon along the way.
Eventually, we ended up at the Steamboat Rock State Park, just south of the Grand Coulee Dam, and in the heart of the "Coulee Country." We had read about the coulees and how they had been formed by the catastrophic floods of the last Ice Age, but weren't prepared for what we saw. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking - similar to the Grand Canyon, only on a smaller scale. We were lucky enough to have hit the park on Sunday afternoon and planned to stay for just one night, otherwise we would have never gotten a campsite - it is typically booked solid throughout the summer. While we had never really been clued in to this area, it was obvious that this is a very popular destination.
The park is in the middle of Banks Lake, which offers warm water beaches for swimming, and a vast waterway for boating and fishing. The wind kicks up in the late afternoons making it an ideal place for day sailers, too. In the evenings many people head out to nearby Grand Coulee to watch the Laser Show on the face of the dam or to play at the tribal casino. Our time was limited so after dinner we headed south to see Dry Falls, about 15 miles away - another awesome site. The next morning before it got really hot, we hiked to the top of Steamboat Rock for an expansive view of the area. We went left at the top of the trail, and looked out south and east over the lake and campground. On the way back we ran into veteran hikers who suggested taking the trail to the right the next time. They said that it had a great view north of the island rocks and their isolated lakes. Even though the campground is packed, the area is filled with things to do, so it didn't seem overly crowded. We definitely plan to return for a longer stay - at least to take that trail to the right, and to hike down to the base of Dry Falls.
I'd highly recommend this spot to visitors to Washington - the scenery alone is unbelievable.
J. C. Cunningham
Arlington, WA
