Magical: A Winter Road Trip To Visit Eastern Washington State Parks

Editor’s note: today is December 1st and for many bloggers it is the beginning of “Blogmas”. It is a marathon of posting every day for the month of December, often with a holiday theme. For some crazy reason I am going to dive into this as motivation to clear out some drafts and repost some posts from the last 6 years with a refresh. And maybe a few new stories! For this post, I started writing it last January but the trip was from February of 2021. It is still one of my favorite winter trips and I hope to repeat it sometime in the future!

My new favorite weather YouTube channel is Pacific Northwest Weather Watch and the last few days the talk has been about whether or not we are going to get another “artic blast” like we had just before Christmas. It gets folks all excited at the thought of lowland snow!

This time of year I am looking forward to mid-winter break in February when I have a week off from work. All this talk of a wintery forecast reminds me that it has been two years now since we had such an event during my February vacation just as I was getting ready to leave for the far southeast corner of Washington State where I had reservations at the Tamarack Cabin in Field Springs State Park. I even called the park to make sure the roads would be okay for me to get to the cabin before I drove over the pass because it was a winter wonderland everywhere!

This turned out to be one of my most memorial adventures of 2021 and not just because we were still in a pandemic. Even though I lived on the east side of the state for 6 years, there were many places I did not visit during that time and it was fun to see the “dry” side with fresh eyes. And unlike my road trip in the summer where I packed in four day hikes and one overnight, the snowy landscape was a stark contrast to the usual amber waves of grain.

Let me tell you all about my trip…

Palouse Falls State Park

After carefully making it over Snoqualmie Pass, I turned off I-90 at Vantage and took familiar 26 in the direction of my alma Mater (GO COUGS!). With a little zig zag on 260 and 261, I pulled off onto the gravel road that would take me to Palouse Falls State Park. This would be my second visit and due to the inclement conditions, there was only one (maybe two?) other vehicles in the parking lot.

The park was frosted in white and frozen tendrils of water clung to the cliff walls. I stayed pretty close to the entrance as the trails were icy (unlike the time I spent appreciating the area last time). You can read more about my stop by clicking on the photo.

And as extra entertainment, a flock of wild turkeys took their time to cross the quiet road outside the park as I was on my way in…

Field Springs State Park

My main objective was a two night stay at Field Springs State park in the far southeast corner of the state. I stopped for a salad at Hazel’s Good Eat in Clarkston but had a cooler of food for the cabin which had a microwave and fridge.

The winter storm had blanketed the park and I felt like I was the only one staying there (which other than a hardy couple in their camper van, I was).

Staying at the cabin allowed me to have a basecamp for exploring the different trails in the park but have a warm place to return to in the evening. I used the map the park provided and Day Hiking Eastern Washington to plan my routes.

My favorite part was as the weather warmed from the cold snap, the snow on the roof of the cabin slowly began to sag and create the most dramatic icicles.

Puffer Butte

I had an opportunity to due about 5 different trails in the park, including a trek to Puffer Butte. The surrounding landscape was stunning and the blue and white tonal variations was stunning. You can read more about my snowshoe trips by clicking on the photo.

Kamiak Butte County Park

When leaving the park, I swung by Kamiak Butte which was north on 395. I have hiked here long ago in college but I don’t have solid memories of doing so. I got there as the sun was going down and the shadows played on the rolling country fields. Click on the photo for more details.

Steamboat Rock State Park

From here, I continued towards Spokane and the over on SR 2 for Steamboat Rock. I had never visited the park before so I was not sure what to expect. Arriving the dark did not help! I chose a camp spot and settled in the for the night with plans to catch sunrise in the morning.

The large mesa caught the morning glow first, the perfect accompaniment to my coffee and breakfast. Afterwards, I did a hike up and around the mesa with views of the rugged terrain typical for this area.

Lake Lenore Caves State Park Heritage Site

From here I was headed home so I swung by Lake Lenore Caves which I had visited before in the summer but never really found the caves the site is named for. I had success this time and spent time in several of the hollowed out caverns as well as gazing out at the frozen landscape.

Stevens Pass would be my normal route but the forecast that night was tricky so I drove through Ellensburg and over Snoqualmie Pass to be safe. This allowed me a chance to stop at the Pearl Bar & Grill in Eburg for a delicious steak salad to go. Sorry the picture is so blurry!

This trip was so memorable and perfect, it has been hard to imagine repeating it. I’d love to have a similar experience but I think that the conditions would just not be as good as they were for this trip. Or maybe they would just be different and special in their own way…

Have you explored Eastern Washington in the winter time? Do you have a favorite state park or day hike I missed? Maybe up in the Spokane area or down near Walla Walla?

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