Outdoors & River

Trails, river conditions, parks, foothills, weather-adjacent recreation, and getting outside.

A large gray gun stands on a concrete gun platform beside open water, with grass and a distant shoreline behind it and a few small visitors far off at the left.

Outdoors & River/November 10, 2026

Triangle of Fire forts, Fort Worden, Casey and Flagler

Triangle of Fire forts in Washington: Worden, Casey and Flagler. Hours, the Discover Pass rule, the Nov. 11 free day and winter closures as of November 2026.

A flock of dark geese flying across a gray-blue sky over Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Clark County, Washington.

Outdoors & River/November 9, 2026

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in winter, what is open

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in winter: the auto tour is vehicle only October 1 to April 30. The $3 fee, open trails, dogs and the hunt dates.

Looking out through the dark rock arch at Hole-in-the-Wall, Rialto Beach, at a tall sea stack with small trees on top and surf breaking beyond it.

Outdoors & River/November 6, 2026

Rialto Beach and Hole-in-the-Wall, and the tide rule

Rialto Beach Hole-in-the-Wall tide rule: the park says not to cross once the tide begins to cover the arch floor. Read NOAA's La Push table, plus the drive.

White water plunging over dark rock at Lower Tumwater Falls, with trees above and mist drifting past a rock face on the right.

Outdoors & River/November 5, 2026

Tumwater Falls Park, a free private park with a fish ladder

Tumwater Falls Park (Brewery Park) is free and private. Hours as of October 2026, the salmon viewing season, the falls' height and the brewery history.

A large block of petrified wood banded in cream, rust and brown lies on dark gravel in the foreground of a wide-angle view, with more petrified logs, a chain strung between stone posts, a brown notice board, bare hills and a strip of river behind it.

Outdoors & River/November 4, 2026

Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park hours in winter

Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park is open 8 a.m. to dusk in winter, as of October 2026. Interpretive center hours, the pass, and the drive from Enumclaw.

Fog among tall, slender tree trunks above mossy fallen logs, with a large weathered stump at left, along a trail in Wallace Falls State Park.

Outdoors & River/November 3, 2026

Wallace Falls State Park in winter, hours and trail snow

Wallace Falls State Park in winter: open 8 a.m. to dusk as of October 2026, Discover Pass rules, the drive from Enumclaw and what hikers report about snow.

Snow covers the rolling hills of the Palouse in low light with long blue shadows, seen from Steptoe Butte, with a cluster of buildings and trees at left and low ridges under a pale sky in the distance.

Outdoors & River/November 2, 2026

Steptoe Butte State Park hours in winter and the road

Steptoe Butte State Park is open 8 a.m. to dusk in winter, as of October 2026, but its road is not maintained. The pass, Hume Road, the drive from Enumclaw.

The Yakima River flowing past a green hillside with basalt outcrops under a blue sky, in the Yakima River Canyon.

Outdoors & River/October 30, 2026

Yakima Canyon scenic drive on Highway 821, stop by stop

Yakima Canyon scenic drive on Highway 821: four BLM river stops, fees, bighorn sheep, winter notes and the 1924 road, about 115 miles from Enumclaw.

A flooded cranberry bog covered in floating red berries, with a thicker mass of berries held inside a floating green frame, a conveyor and two workers at the left edge, and evergreens along the far side.

Outdoors & River/October 29, 2026

Washington cranberry harvest, when and where to watch it

Washington cranberry harvest typically runs late September to early November, by the Cranberry Museum's page. Where to watch at Long Beach and the drive.

A snowboarder on a snow-covered slope far below Mount Shuksan, whose snowy summit rises above dark evergreens under a blue sky with thin cloud.

Outdoors & River/October 28, 2026

Mount Baker snowfall record, 1,140 inches in 1998-99

The Mount Baker snowfall record is 1,140 inches in 1998-99, accepted by NOAA on August 2, 1999. How it was measured, audited and what it beat.

Moss-draped bigleaf maples seen from below in the Hall of Mosses, their branches spreading against a pale sky in the Hoh Rain Forest.

Outdoors & River/October 27, 2026

Hoh Rain Forest in winter, and what stays open

Hoh Rain Forest in winter: trails, road and campground stay open, the visitor center closes January to early March, and a US 101 bridge is down to one lane.

The rocky, snow-streaked summit ridge of Mount Si rises above dark fir forest under a clear blue sky.

Outdoors & River/October 26, 2026

Mount Si in winter, the Discover Pass and the parking

Mount Si in winter: DNR lists no closure and requires a Discover Pass to park ($45 a year, $10 a day, as of Oct 2026). Hikers' reports on snow and parking.