DNR to close four campgrounds after lawmakers cut fundingFree

The Department of Natural Resources announced last week that four Washington campgrounds will be closed for the rest of the year and several others will be partially closed following two consecutive years of funding cuts.

The Legislature has slashed roughly $8 million from the department’s recreation program. In 2025, lawmakers reduced the program’s budget by more than 20 percent, and this year, they cut another nearly $600,000 of maintenance funding.

The decrease in funding means sites will be less maintained, storm recovery work will take longer and trailhead bathrooms won’t be stocked, according to the agency.

“At a time when more people than ever are relying on our public lands, we should be expanding recreation access, not reducing it,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove in a statement. “I’m ready to work with legislators to find solutions that meet that need.”

The campgrounds to close this year include Anderson Lake in Elbe, Rock Lakes in Conconully and Upper Clearwater in Forks. Island Camp in Glenwood will be closed to overnight use, but the cabin and day use area will remain open.

Seven other campgrounds will either be temporarily closed or have reduced services.

“The final budget came in less severe than earlier proposals, so we’re able to avoid some closures for now,” Upthegrove said.

Gov. Bob Ferguson proposed cutting $750,000 from the recreation program’s maintenance fund, but lawmakers scaled it down to $580,000.

In addition to the campground closures, the agency lost a partnership with the Washington Conversation Corps, a statewide service program for young adults. In previous years, the partnership supported the equivalent of 70 additional field staff.

The recreation team is made up of 60 field staff across the state. For every 21 miles of trail, 50,000 acres and 333,000 visitors, only one staff member exists.

Recreational site closure alerts and updates can be found on the Department of Natural Resources’ website.