Hi, I'm Eric.

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

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

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133
Wanapum Recreation Area
133

Wanapum Recreation Area

south of Vantage, Washington
visited 7 September 2024
Back to parks list

This morning I visited Wanapum Recreation Area on the shores of the Columbia River.

I arrived at sunrise, thinking that the sun would lend extra color and vibrance to the scenery. It did.

A wide pre-dawn view across a calm lake or reservoir, with low rolling hills silhouetted on the far shore beneath a sky glowing soft orange and pink fading to pale blue. The foreground is dry sagebrush and grassland in shadow.

The site offers about 50 tent and RV camp sites nestled amongst trees along the river. So as not to disturb anyone, I took my photo of the campground from the highway above.

A wide, hazy view across a calm river or reservoir at dawn, with dry sagebrush and golden grass in the foreground, low rolling hills and basalt cliffs in the distance, and a soft pink-and-blue sky overhead. A small settlement with trees and buildings sits along the far shoreline to the right.

Once in Wanapum, I walked around the picnic grounds and beaches, which I had almost entirely to myself.

A quiet lakeshore beach at dawn with calm water reflecting soft yellow and orange light near the horizon, framed by tall cottonwood trees on the left and low brushy shrubs, with distant rolling hills across the water. A picnic table sits at the edge of the sandy shore and a swimming-area rope line stretches into the water.

You might notice it’s a bit hazy. There are some forest fires around today. Later during the day, it became much more obvious.

A wide river bends through dry, high-desert terrain at dawn, with sagebrush and golden grass in the foreground and a faint dirt path leading toward the shoreline. Hazy hills and bluffs frame the far side of the water under a soft sky tinted orange and blue, with distant wind turbines along the ridgeline.
A calm lakeshore with a sandy gray beach curving along the water’s edge, lined with a cluster of full green trees and brush on the left, under a soft pastel sky tinted pink and pale yellow at dawn. Low hills line the far shore across the still water.
A calm river curves along a sandy shoreline at dawn, with a small green tree and dry grasses growing on the sandy bluff to the right. Arid, golden-brown hills and rocky bluffs line the far shore under a soft, hazy blue and pink sky.
A sandy trail winds through dry golden grasses and sagebrush along the shore of a calm river at dawn, with scattered green trees near the water and rolling tan hills rising in the hazy distance.
A calm river at dawn with a low floating dock extending into the water near a pebbly, grassy shoreline and a leafy tree on the right; distant hills and bluffs line the far bank under a soft orange-to-blue sky.
A green and tan Washington State Parks sign reading “WANAPUM” mounted on a wooden post set into a pile of rocks beside calm water. A floating boat dock and concrete boat ramp sit at left, with arid grassy hills under a hazy pale blue morning sky in the background.
The sun rises low over a wide, calm river with low rolling hills along the far shore, casting a glowing orange reflection across the water. Green shrubs and a rocky bank line the foreground under a hazy pastel sky.
A calm stretch of the Columbia River at dawn, with green trees and dry grassy shoreline in the foreground giving way to a rocky beach, and low arid hills fading into the hazy distance under a soft blue and pale gold sky.
A narrow dirt trail winds along a dry, grassy hillside dotted with sagebrush and scattered green shrubs, leading toward a calm body of water with low hills in the distance under a hazy pastel sky at early morning.

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See You in Spring 2025!

This will likely be my last park visit for 2024. There are relatively few parks remaining and most of them are bike trails or islands which will be easier or more comfortable to visit during the warmer months next year.

I encourage you to subscribe to my mailing list to follow along on my other travels and catch up when the park-visiting resumes next spring!

See you soon!

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