The Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that four Washington state campgrounds will be closed for the rest of the year and several others will be partially closed following two consecutive years of funding cuts.
The state Legislature has slashed roughly $8 million from the department’s recreation program. In 2025, lawmakers reduced the program’s budget by more than 20%, and this year, they cut another nearly $600,000 of maintenance funding.
The decrease in funding means sites will be less maintained, storm recovery work will take longer and trailhead bathrooms won’t be stocked, according to the agency.
“At a time when more people than ever are relying on our public lands, we should be expanding recreation access, not reducing it,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove in a statement. “I’m ready to work with legislators to find solutions that meet that need.”
The campgrounds to close this year include Anderson Lake in Elbe, Rock Lakes in Conconully and Upper Clearwater in Forks. Island Camp in Glenwood will be closed to overnight use, but the cabin and day use area will remain open.
Seven other campgrounds will either be temporarily closed or have reduced services.
“The final budget came in less severe than earlier proposals, so we’re able to avoid some closures for now,” Upthegrove said.
Gov. Bob Ferguson proposed cutting $750,000 from the recreation program’s maintenance fund, but lawmakers scaled it down to $580,000.
In addition to the campground closures, the agency lost a partnership with the Washington Conversation Corps, a statewide service program for young adults. In previous years, the partnership supported the equivalent of 70 additional field staff.
The recreation team is made up of 60 field staff across the state. For every 21 miles of trail, 50,000 acres and 333,000 visitors, only one staff member exists.
Recreational site closure alerts and updates can be found on the Department of Natural Resources’ website.
Two local campgrounds impacted by cuts
Two campgrounds in the Lewis County area managed by the Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be among those that suffer from reduced services or closures going forward as the department copes with cuts to its budget.
The DNR recently announced service changes, including closures and reduced hours at 11 campgrounds across the state. The changes will directly impact services at the Winston Creek Campground in Mossyrock and the Anderson Lake Campground in Elbe.
According to a chart of recreation impacts released by the DNR, the Winston Creek Campground in Mossyrock will have a “reduced season” this summer, opening later than normal and closing earlier than normal.
The site is expected to operate from June 1 to Oct. 1 until further notice. DNR added that the site will also still open and operate, as usual, in the month of December to support hunting season.
The situation at Anderson Lake is more dire. The DNR said the site will not reopen in 2026. The site is one of four campgrounds to suffer a complete closure due to staffing and budget issues.
