Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

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111
Steamboat Rock State Park
111

Steamboat Rock State Park

southwest of Electric City, Washington
visited 19 March and 17 July 2022
Back to parks list

There is only one Steamboat Rock. As a 600-foot tall basalt rock formation in an otherwise mostly-level landscape, it is no wonder it made an impression on early explorers.

I visited this park at the end of the winter season and captured a few frames before an approaching snowstorm caused me to cut my hike short and change my plans.

A flat-topped basalt butte with columnar cliffs rises above a talus slope under an overcast gray sky, with silvery sagebrush and a couple of scattered pine trees filling the arid foreground at Steamboat Rock State Park.
A high basalt cliff and rocky plateau rising above a dry, sagebrush-covered slope dotted with scattered ponderosa pines, under a heavy overcast gray sky.
A gravel road winds through arid high-desert terrain under an overcast gray sky, flanked by sagebrush and dry grasses, with several ponderosa pines on the left and a dark basalt rock outcrop on the right.
A flat-topped basalt cliff rises above a talus slope dotted with scattered ponderosa pines under an overcast gray sky. In the foreground, dry golden grasses and pale sagebrush cover the ground, framed by two larger pine trees on the left and right.
A faint dirt trail winds through pale sagebrush and dry grassland dotted with ponderosa pines, with dark basalt cliffs rising on the left and a distant blue lake and rocky headlands visible under an overcast gray sky.
A faint dirt trail winds through a hillside of pale sagebrush and dry grass dotted with scattered ponderosa pines, with basalt cliffs rising in the distance under a heavily overcast gray sky.

When I came back in the summer, I found lush greens and a busy campground.

A two-lane paved road stretches straight ahead through dry grassland and sagebrush toward the flat-topped basalt mesa of Steamboat Rock under a clear deep-blue sky.
A grassy lawn slopes down to a calm river backed by tall basalt cliffs and rocky hills, with green cottonwoods and willows lining the far shore under a clear blue sky. A boat dock is visible on the far right along the water’s edge.

I set out to hike up the Rock, at least to the best of my ability:

A gravel trail winds through desert scrubland of sagebrush and dry grasses toward the layered basalt cliffs of Steamboat Rock, its flat-topped mesa rising under a cloudless deep blue sky.

I only made it partway up, but the views, even there, were impressive:

A wide panoramic view of a sagebrush-covered high desert plain under a clear blue sky, with a gravel trail leading toward a blue lake backed by flat-topped basalt cliffs and mesas at Steamboat Rock State Park.
A sandy trail winds through sagebrush and dry scrubland toward a cluster of pine trees, with a lake and green wetlands in the middle distance backed by long, flat-topped basalt cliffs under a clear blue sky.
A sandy footpath winds through sagebrush and dry golden grass in an arid canyon landscape, with dark columnar basalt cliffs rising on the left and a blue lake and layered cliffs visible in the distance under a clear sky.

As I left for my next destination, I caught a couple more views of the Rock and a waterskier from Highway 155:

A large flat-topped basalt mesa, Steamboat Rock, rises above the blue waters of Banks Lake under a clear cloudless sky, with a green tree-covered peninsula on the left shore and rocky riprap in the lower right foreground.

Related: I hiked the nearby Northrup Canyon Trail with some friends in 2009.

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