Park Overview
 Lake Chelan
State Park is a 127-acre camping park on the forested south shore of Lake
Chelan. The park has 6,000 feet of shoreline, lakeside views and expansive lawns
for strolling and playing. The park gets an annual average rainfall of 11
inches. Summer tends to be hot and dry. Annual average snowfall is 42 inches.
A vehicle parking permit is no longer required for day visits.
Park Hours Summer: 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Winter: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The park is open year round for camping and day use.
Temporary closure : Due to a construction project, Lake Chelan State
Park will be closed November 20 and 21.
Camping:
Check-in time, 2:30 p.m.
Check-out time, 1 p.m.
Quiet hours: 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.
Driving Directions Located nine miles west of Chelan, Wash.
Northbound from Wenatchee:
On U.S. Hwy. 97A, drive nine miles north of Entiat and turn left onto SR 971.
Continue seven miles until highway ends at South Lakeshore Road. Turn right,
then immediately turn left into park entrance.
Southbound from Chelan:
Take Hwy. 97A south. Three miles south of Chelan, turn right on South Lakeshore
Rd. Proceed six miles on Lakeshore Rd., and turn right into Lake Chelan State
Park.
Picnic Facilities The park provides one kitchen shelter without electricity
plus 52 unsheltered picnic tables. All are available first-come, first-served.
Be advised the parking area is small and fills early on weekends.
Activities
| Trails |
Water Activities |
Other |
| |
- Boating (freshwater)
- Boating (freshwater, non-motorized)
- 1 boat ramp (freshwater)
- 495 feet of dock (freshwater)
- Fishing (freshwater)
- Personal Watercraft (freshwater)
- Swimming (freshwater)
- Water Skiing (freshwater)
|
- Bird Watching
- 2 Horseshoe pits
- Sailboarding
|
The park offers a large, grassy play field suitable for team sports. There is
also a swing set.
Boating FeaturesIn the winter the watercraft launch is open weekends and
holidays only, depending on water level.
The park has one single-lane launch with a nearby 28-car parking lot that fills
rapidly on weekends. The park offers 495 feet of dock, some of it near the
launch and some of it at the opposite end of the park near lakeside camping.
A daily permit is available for watercraft launching and trailer dumping at the
park for $5.
Annual permits also may be purchased at State Parks Headquarters in Olympia, at
region offices, online, and at parks when staff is available.
Featured Creatures
| Mammals |
Birds |
Fish & Sea Life |
- Bears
- Bobcats
- Chipmunks
- Coyotes
- Deer or Elk
- Raccoons
- Squirrels
|
- Chukars
- Crows or Ravens
- Doves or Pigeons
- Ducks
- Eagles
- Geese
- Grouse
- Gulls
- Hawks
- Hummingbirds
- Jays
- Owls
- Quail
- Woodpeckers
- Wrens
|
|
Environmental Features
| Physical Features |
Plant Life |
Special |
The lake was carved by two
competing glaciers, the Chelan Glacier and the continental ice
sheet. Their back-and-forth movement created the broad lower
lake and narrow upper lake.
|
- Douglas Fir
- Ponderosa Pine
- Spruce
- Apple
- Ash
- Maple
- Oak
- Poplar
|
|
History Native Americans used this site as a home and hunting area for many
years. The name "Chelan" is a Salish Indian word meaning both "lake" and "blue
water."
The location of a cabin owned by John Stevenson is visible in the park. One of
the earliest white settlers in the area, Stevenson was a colorful trapper,
blacksmith and ferry operator. He was the first postmaster on the southshore.
In 1880, Col. John Merriam established a military post on the shores of Lake
Chelan. Civilian settlers began arriving in 1886, and the town was incorporated
in 1902.
According to local lore, Lake Chelan was used as a lure in a real estate scandal
of the 1940's. Unsuspecting buyers were sold inferior property in the mistaken
belief they were buying property on the shores of Lake Chelan, or so the story
goes. The real estate company, when accused, refused to acknowledge ownership.
As a matter of public record, 124 acres of Lake Chelan State Park was acquired
through a court settlement against a company named Babco, Inc. in 1943. |
