Naturalist Trip - Steamboat Rock State Park

On Day 1, Saturday,  at 10:30 am we will hike up onto Steamboat Rock and essentially walk its perimeter with key stops aimed at the spectacular geography and geology. It is a ~650 feet climb from the parking lot to the top of the rock but the climbing is interspersed with gentle stretches. Hiking poles are really helpful on the steep stretches. The trails on top of the rock are easy to moderate. The total hiking mileage is a bit over 4 miles and we should be back to campsites  4 or 5 pm

On Day 2, Sunday, we begin earlier, 8:30 am  driving to the trailhead for Northrup Canyon. We will hike on the old road that follows the canyon floor to the original Northrup homestead. Along the way, we will stop to examine bedrock geology (including jointed and exfoliated granites), Ice Age flood evidence, rockfalls and talus, Northrup Creek, Grant County’s only forest, and human land use history.We should be back to our cars by 3:30pm.  Hiking distance is about 4 miles.

Camping will put you at the closest location for our hikes but lodging might be available in nearby Electric City, Grand Coulee, and Coulee Dam. Steamboat Rock State Park has a few cabins that might be available.   For any accommodations, please reserve asap.  The tent sites we are hoping everyone can reserve are in the Dune Loop.  Only one tent is allowed per site on the tent pad and putting a tent on the grass area is not allowed.  If you are sharing a campsite you can put one tent on the tent pad and the other on the parking area. Reserve  here: https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/steamboat-rock-state-park  

Steamboat Rock State Park Dune Loop Campsites, Saturday April 12, 10:00am.