ThingsToDo.com Logo Things to do in Washington
 

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

Camping | Activities

 

Description

In 1941, damming of the Columbia River as part of the Columbia River Basin project created a 130-mile long lake. Named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the lake is now the largest recreation feature in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. The man-made recreation area provides opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, camping, hiking and tours of Fort Spokane and the Dam.

Park Information

Park Hours/Seasons:  Always open. The recreation season is May through October.

Office Operating Hours:  Open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM PST. Closed on all Federal holidays. Seasonal Visitor Contact Stations are located at Kettle Falls, Fort Spokane and Spring Canyon.

Fees:  
Entrance - There are no entrance fees for Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

Boat Launch - The Boat Launch fee is $40 for the season, or $6 for seven consecutive days.

Camping - Camping fees are charged year-round at all developed campgrounds accessible by car. Families may have no more than 2 vehicles and 10 people at each campsite. The camping fee is $10.00 per night per campsite, May 1-October 1. The camping fee drops to $5.00 per night November 1- April 30.

    

Campgrounds

Evans Campground
First come- First serve basis. Thirty-four sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Lots of shade, amphitheater and free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Water availability is contingent on water levels.
For More Information on this campground please call
509-738-6266

Fort Spokane Campground
First come- First serve basis. Sixty-seven sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Lots of shade, amphitheater and free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Fort Spokane museum open in summer. Living History program Historic Weapons demonstrations at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays in July and August.
For More Information on this campground please call
509-725-2715

Gifford Campground
First come- First serve basis. Forty-seven sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Some shade, free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Water availability contingent on lake level.

Hunters Campground
First come- First serve basis. Thirty-nine sites are suitable for tents and most RVs. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Some shade. Free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Water availiablity is contingent on lake level.
For More Information on this campground please call
509-738-6266

Kettle Falls Campground
First come- First serve basis. Eighty-nine sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Lots of shade, amphitheater and free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Adjacent to Kettle Falls marina and boat launch.
For More Information on this campground please call
509-738-6266

 

Activities

Kettle Falls
With more than 9000 years of human occupation, Ilthkoyape Falls, now known as the Kettle Falls, is rich with history and folklore. Native Americans fished for salmon, the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post, Chinese placer miners searched for gold, and eventually settlers were drawn by the bountiful resources and beautiful scenery.

When Coulee Dam was completed in 1941, the Kettle Falls, once one of the most important fisheries on the Columbia, were lost forever. The first known white man to venture to the falls was David Thompson, in 1811. He was employed as a geographer and explorer for the North West Company, one of Hudson Bay Company’s most fierce competitors. He wrote in his journal ". . . a considerable Village of Natives who have given their name to these falls. This Village is built of long sheds of about 20’ in breadth by 30’ to 60’ in length, they were built of boards which somehow they had contrived to split from large Cedars drifted down the River . . . ."

 

Fort Spokane
Echoes of the past can be heard along the two mile trail at Fort Spokane. Although quiet and peaceful today, the rush of the free flowing Columbia and Spokane Rivers 9,000 years ago called many Indian tribes to the rich salmon fishery which was located here. The bugle calls that can be heard today on the parade grounds summoned soldiers to their posts 100 years ago. Today, the whisper of the wind in the box elder trees, which were planted during the Indian School period, is the same whisper children attending school heard at the turn of the century.

For the adventurous, the trail climbs approximately 300 feet to the top of the bluff, giving you a spectacular view of the fort grounds and the confluence of the rivers. This magnificent view echoes a geologic past of 13,000 years ago when huge Ice Age Floods carved this amazing landscape.

 

Spring Canyon
An oasis in the desert, Spring Canyon has attracted campers, boaters and swimmers for many years. Some of the first to camp and swim near today’s beach were turn-of-the-century gold miners waiting to get across the Columbia River on the old Seaton Ferry. Along today’s Lake Roosevelt shoreline sits an 87-site campground with some covered RV sites, restrooms, and fresh water. Take a short hike along the Bunchgrass Prairie Trail among native vegetation, and gain an appreciation for what lives here.

 

   

 

For Additional Information Contact:

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
1008 Crest Drive
Coulee Dam, WA 99116
(509) 633-9441

 

For more information visit the National Park Service website