Did you know there are over 140 State Parks in Washington State! They range from small roadside historical attractions to grand parks of pristine wilderness.

While all of the States have a state park system, I am highlighting Washington State Parks for a few reasons. The first is the most obvious, living in Washington makes access to these parks easy, but that is just the start. Washington state is one of the only states to have all major 'micro-climates' and geographical types. Coastal (both sand and rocky beaches), Rainforest (Olympic Penninsula), High Alpine (Glaciers and Mountains of the Cascades) Desert/Arid (Central Washington/Cascade Rainshadow) and Plains (eastern Washington). You can in one day drive from sea to sky, experience sub freezing and 100 degree temperatures, be in a monsoon like deluge and be in a place so dry that the ash from the eruptions of Mt St Helens and other volcanoes has not washed away. You can run rivers through great basalt uplifts and then paddle across tidal flats. You can see a dust devil kick up and roll across the wheat fields and then go and sit under 200 ft tall tree canopy on the mossy undergrowth. It truly is a state that has a little bit of everything, and it is well represented by the various state parks. The final reason that I am embarking on this is partially related to the first. I grew up in Washington, and grew up with several state parks being my playground. They have always provided a backdrop to my life. From play, to work, and now as home. Our home is backed up to what is considered to be one of the crowning jewels of the Park System.