Each family cooks one meal for everyone. Open your family to pick your meal, set your site #, tick who's coming & add dishes. Families not cooking yet are at the bottom. Lunches are on your own; Sunday is leftovers.
🏔️ Offroading SxS & moto
The park has no OHV riding, but there's sand to play in within ~40 min–1 hr:
- Beverly Sand Dunes ORV (~40 mi) — 300 acres of dunes & bowls, all OHVs; free primitive staging, vault toilet.
- Moses Lake Sand Dunes (~1 hr) — ~3,000 acres, the big eastern-WA dune area.
- DNR/WDFW back roads (Quincy Lakes, Colockum) — primitive, 4WD; Discover Pass needed.
⚠️ Need a WA ORV tab on the machine + a Discover Pass for state/DNR land. Helmets required (except street-legal moto). See the Grant County ORV rules.
🥾 Hiking
- Umatilla Rock Loop — ~3 mi, easy & flat; basalt pillars + lake views. No shade — bring water. (WTA)
- Dry Falls Overlook — short walk to the 3.5-mile-wide Ice Age chasm + visitor center.
- ~15 miles of trails total through the coulee.
🎣 Fishing WA license required
- Park Lake — rainbow & brown trout, bass, perch; two boat ramps.
- Dry Falls Lake — rainbow / brown / tiger trout; a fly-fishing favorite (boat or float tube).
- Lake Lenore — trophy Lahontan cutthroat; selective gear, barbless, no gas motors.
- Deep Lake — quieter trout option.
Each lake links to its official WDFW page — species & rules can change, so check there before you fish.
🏊 Swimming & paddling
- Park Lake — sandy swim beach by the campground; great for kayak / SUP.
- Deep Lake — calmer water for paddling.
- ⛳ Mini golf & a concession stand (espresso, ice cream) on site too.
About the spot
We're camping at the foot of one of the planet's great geological wonders. At the end of the last Ice Age, cataclysmic floods carved Dry Falls — once a waterfall nearly 3.5 miles wide and 400 feet tall, far bigger than Niagara. Today it's a dramatic horseshoe of basalt cliffs above a chain of spring-fed lakes — warm swimming water, big desert skies, and some of the best stars in the state.
Getting there
Roughly 3.5–4 hrs from the Puget Sound side. High desert — top off gas in Coulee City and bring plenty of water.
Campground map
Our sites are in the 1–31 group (circled) — Loop E, sites 30 & 31, on the road east toward Deep Lake. Heads up: the official map only points to the 1–31 loop, it doesn't draw the individual sites. For the exact spot, open your reservation on washington.goingtocamp.com or see the WA State Parks PDF. Tap the map to enlarge.
🛒 Stores & supplies nearby
- On site — Sun Lakes Park Resort general store (firewood, propane, ice, tackle) + a concession stand (espresso, ice cream, snacks).
- Coulee City (~5 min) — Coulee City Food Center, 614 W Walnut: the closest grocery (meat, produce, dairy, ice, beer/wine). Small but handy.
- ☕ Banks Lake Brew & Bistro in Coulee City — espresso, pastries & sandwiches (≈7 am–3 pm).
- Big stock-up — Safeway in Ephrata (~30 min) or Moses Lake (~45 min) for a full supermarket.
Small-town hours change — call ahead. Plenty of folks grab espresso & last-minute basics on the way in.
Good to know
- ⛺ Sites have fire pits but no tent pads — bring a footprint / sleeping pad.
- 🪵 Buy firewood at or near the park (invasive-species rule) — don't bring your own.
- 🚗 Only one vehicle per site is included; extras are $10/night unless towed.
- 🚪 After-hours arrival: enter at the gate using the slider bar, close it behind you, register next morning.
- 💧 Pack extra water and coolers; it's dry and hot. 🚿 6 restrooms, 12 showers & a dump station on site.
☀️ Weather live + typical
Typical for the trip dates:
- Hot, dry high desert: highs ~85°F, nights drop to ~60°F.
- Strong sun (UV ~7) & afternoon wind — sunscreen, hat, shade canopy.
- Cool mornings/evenings — pack a layer, and lots of water.
🔥 Campfires & burn bans
WA state parks follow DNR fire stages. Late July is usually restricted — plan on propane:
- Stage 1 — wood campfires OK in fire rings; propane & gas stoves OK.
- Stage 2 — no wood or charcoal fires, but a propane / gas stove or fire-pit with a shut-off valve is still allowed.
- Stage 3 — extreme; even more restricted, roads may close.
Safest bet: pack a propane stove/fire-pit. Check the park's campfire / burn-ban alerts or the DNR burn portal before you go.
⚠️ Heads up — wildlife & safety
- 🐍 Rattlesnakes live in the sagebrush — closed-toe shoes on trails, watch rocky/brushy spots, give them room. (WDFW)
- 🦟 Mosquitoes by the lakes at dusk/dawn — pack DEET & a light layer. (WA DOH)
- 🦠 Lake water — towel off after swimming (swimmer's itch), and check for summer blue-green algae before going in.
- 🪳 Ticks in grass/brush (no Lyme in E. WA) — long pants, check after hikes. Scorpions exist but are harmless.
- 🥵 Heat — high-desert sun; bring ~3–4 L water per person/day, hats & SPF 50.