Officials release list of 100 Washington State Parks reopening May 5
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission on Saturday released a list of 100 state parks and properties that will reopen for day-use starting Tuesday, May 5.
Certain parks will remain closed, including all ocean beach parks and those along the Columbia River Gorge, officials said.
"Beaches and camping have been identified in Phase 2 of Gov. Inslee’s reopening plan," officials wrote in a news release. "Parks will coordinate with the governor’s office as we move toward that milestone."
"State Parks will also take steps to reduce parking capacity at some urban locations such as Lake Sammamish, Saint Edward and Dash Point by limiting parking. Reducing the number of parking stalls available will help decrease the number of people who can access the parks at one time, minimizing crowds."
Officials ask the public to:
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday that the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order would be extended through at least May 31 and said there will be a four-stage phase-in for lifting of restrictions, starting with allowing retail curbside pickup, automobile sales and car washes by mid-May.
There will be a minimum of three weeks between each phase, though he said some counties with lower numbers of cases and deaths may be able to open parts of their economy sooner if approved by the Department of Health.
Washington saw the nation’s first confirmed COVID-19 case in January, as well as the first deadly cluster, at a Seattle-area nursing home. Inslee in March was among the first governors to order sweeping social distancing restrictions.
Here is the full list of parks that will reopen, followed by parks that will remain closed:
PARKS OPENING MAY 5
Alta Lake
Battle Ground Lake
Bay View
Belfair
Birch Bay
Blake Island
Blind Island
Bottle Beach
Bridgeport
Bridle Trails
Brooks Memorial
Cama Beach
Camano Island
Centennial Trail
Clark Island
Columbia Plateau Trail
Conconully
Curlew Lake
Cutts Island
Dash Point (reduced capacity)
Deception Pass
Doe Island
Dosewallips
Eagle Island
Federation Forest
Fields Spring
Flaming Geyser
Fort Casey
Fort Ebey
Fort Flagler
Fort Townsend
Fort Worden
Ginkgo Petrified Forest
Goldendale Observatory
Griffiths-Priday
Hope Island - Mason
Hope Island - Skagit
Ike Kinswa
Illahee
Jackson House
James Island
Jarrell Cove
Joemma Beach
Jones Island
Joseph Whidbey
Kanaskat-Palmer
Kinney Point
Kitsap Memorial
Kopachuck
Lake Chelan
Lake Easton
Lake Sammamish (reduced capacity)
Lake Sylvia
Lake Wenatchee
Larrabee
Leadbetter Point
Lewis & Clark
Lewis & Clark Trail
Lime Kiln Point
Lincoln Rock
Lyons Ferry
Manchester
Matia Island
McMicken Island
Millersylvania
Moran
Mount Pilchuck
Mount Spokane
Mystery Bay
Nine Mile Recreation Area
Nolte
Obstruction Pass
Olallie
Olmstead Place
Pacific Pines
Palouse Falls
Palouse to Cascades
Paradise Point
Patos Island
Peace Arch
Pearrygin Lake
Penrose Point
Peshastin Pinnacles
Posey Island
Potholes
Potlatch
Rainbow Falls
Rasar
Reed Island
Riverside
Rockport
Sacajawea
Saddlebag Island
Saint Edward (reduced capacity)
Saltwater
Scenic Beach
Schafer
Seaquest
Sequim Bay
Shine Tidelands
Skagit Island
South Whidbey
Spencer Spit
Squak Mountain
Squilchuck
Steamboat Rock
Steptoe Battlefield
Steptoe Butte
Stuart Island
Sucia Island
Sun Lakes-Dry Falls
Tolmie
Triton Cove
Turn Island
Twanoh
Twenty-Five Mile Creek
Wanapum Recreation Area
Wenatchee Confluence
Willapa Hills Trail
Yakima Sportsman
PARKS REMAINING CLOSED
Anderson Lake
Beacon Rock
Bogachiel
Cape Disappointment
Camp Wooten
Cedar Falls Trailhead (on Palouse to Cascades Trail)
Columbia Hills (limited fishing access)
Crawford State Park and Gardner Caves
Daroga
Doug’s Beach
Fisk
Fort Columbia
Fort Simcoe
Grayland Beach
Klickitat Trail
Kukutali Preserve
Ocean City
Pacific Beach
Pleasant Harbor
Maryhill (watercraft launch will open)
Spring Creek Hatchery
Twin Harbors
Westport Light
Wallace Falls
The Associated Press contributed to this story.