By Madeline McKenzie
The Seattle Times
It’s been a great year for winter recreation fans, with plenty of snow in the mountains for skiing, snowshoeing, tubing and other winter fun. For many Northwesterners, though, February is the time to start thinking spring. It doesn’t officially arrive until March 20, but the days are getting a bit longer and temperatures a bit less chilly.
While we’re looking ahead to summer, it’s a good time to start planning a visit to our Washington State Parks and National Parks. Tent and RV camping are always popular, but if that’s not your style, cabins and yurts with simple furnishings, electricity and heat are available at many state parks for vacations with rustic outdoor charm without roughing it. They’ve been so popular that 34 new sites have been added in the past few years, including cabins at Dash Point State Park in Federal Way, Dosewallips and Belfair on Hood Canal and Deception Pass on Whidbey Island, one of the most popular state parks.
Park accommodations near ocean beaches include recently added cabins at Twin Harbors State Park. Furnished with a queen-size futon, bunk bed, table and chairs, the cabins are heated and include an outdoor picnic table and fire pit, with bathrooms and showers nearby. Other options near ocean beaches include yurts at Pacific Beach State Park and Grayland Beach State Park and cabins at Cape Disappointment State Park on the shore of Lake O’Neil. Prices for cabin and yurt reservations vary from approximately $45 to $89 a night, depending on location and time of year.
Popular options for accommodations and campsites at state and national parks often fill early, especially for summer weekends. Planning an outdoor summer getaway might be a good conversation starter at Sunday’s Super Bowl gatherings with friends and family. Accommodations can be reserved nine months in advance for Washington State Parks and six months in advance for National Parks that take reservations; camping is first-come, first-served at many locations and nonpeak season dates.
Another note looking ahead to spring: early-bird tickets are on sale for the Northwest Flower and Garden show with display gardens, vendors and seminars, Feb. 22 to 26, at the Washington State Convention Center, Seattle.