Sun Lakes State Park in the Coulee Corridor

Fancy some traditional recreation after your geology lesson? As you leave Dry Falls Interpretive Center going south on Highway 17, you will descend down into the coulee. On the right in the layers of basalt, you can see a fault line where tectonic plate movement is apparent. On the left you will see a golf course, campground and park at the north end of Park Lake. There is also miniature golf (a really nice new installation terraced on the hillside), paddle boat rentals, snack bar, gift shop, swimming, docks, fishing, cabins, and all kinds of fun stuff. The Ping family has been operating this park concession for a number of years, and has made many improvements.

Good Clean Fun at Soap Lake

With a mineral content similar to the famed spa at Baden-Baden, Germany, Soap Lake has long attracted health-seeking visitors from all over the world. A gathering point for the Columbia Plateau tribes before white settlers came to Washington, the Native Americans called it Smokiam, or "Healing Waters." After World War I, the victims of mustard gas attacks developed a disease called Buerger's Disease, and Soap Lake water was the only known cure. A sanitarium was built to treat the afflicted soldiers.

The water is too alkaline to support piscine life, so leave your fishing pole in the car, lest you make a spectacle of yourself. (I have friends that "go fishing" there just to be funny). Brine shrimp and a few water bugs inhabit the water. Some of the locals will attempt to intrigue you with tales of a lake monster, but they are just pulling your leg.

Soap Lake boasts several gradually sloping beaches that make it very safe for little ones to play in the lake. And, because the water is so dense, it is virtually impossible to sink. You can float around all day with your head, hands and feet sticking out of the water (try that in normal water and you sink like a stone). When you come out, the minerals from the lake will dry in white water spots on your skin. There are showers on the developed beaches where you can rinse off if you like.

Another interesting thing about Soap Lake is: when the wind blows, the wave action on the shore actually whips up suds (see photo)! Soap Lake is at the south end of the Coulee Corridor at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 28.

Season Pass Sale at SplashZone!

You've got to hand it to 'em - the City of Ephrata has built a very nice waterpark. It gets really hot in Ephrata in the summertime, so a swimming hole is a good thing. If you are more comfortable with chlorine and lifeguards, then maybe SplashZone may be the place you'll want to go to chill. Call for information: 509-754-3456 Located at: 780 A ST SE, Ephrata, WA 98823. Season passes are on sale until late April.