Washington Campgrounds Face Closure
Budget cuts proposed for Washington's Department of Natural Resources could result in campground closures near popular lakes and forests. Among those threatened is a campground at a well-known rainbow trout fishery in Northcentral Washington, pending legislative negotiations.
The proposed $750,000 annual reduction to the Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) recreation budget comes on top of a more than 20% cut for the 2025-2027 biennium. This has intensified a long-term funding shortage for maintaining the state's recreation sites. Among the campgrounds facing potential full closure is Chopaka Lake in Okanogan County, a well-known fly-fishing destination for rainbow trout. Other sites threatened with complete closure include Bear Creek and Lyre River in Clallam County, and Winston Creek in Lewis County. The DNR currently operates with only 60 field staff to manage millions of acres of public lands. This equates to a single staff member for every 50,000 acres, 21.6 miles of trail, or 333,000 visitors. These funding issues were worsened in the 2025 legislative session which did not fund the Washington Conservation Corps crews, a program that had previously supplied the equivalent of 70 additional field staffers for trail and campground maintenance. Outdoor recreation is a significant economic driver for Washington, contributing $26.5 billion in annual spending and supporting 264,000 jobs, according to a 2020 analysis. This economic activity generates over $2 billion in state and local taxes annually. The potential closures and service reductions are not final. The 2026 legislative session is currently underway, with lawmakers from the House and Senate negotiating supplemental budget proposals. The legislative session is scheduled to conclude on March 12, 2026. The final budget decisions made by legislators in the coming weeks will determine the fate of these campgrounds and recreation sites.
