Campground closures, recreation-services cuts across WA as budget cuts take hold
In February, Washington State’s Department of Natural Resources announced tentative plans to close selected campgrounds in 2026 due to budget cuts. On Wednesday, it officially announced which campgrounds would be affected.
A single-site campground called Anderson Lake Campground, south of Ashford is among the closures.
Rock Lakes Campground in Okanogan County also will remain fully closed for 2026. Upper Clearwater Campground near Forks will close for the year on June 1, and many other campgrounds have reduced seasons and hours.
“We don’t want to be reducing recreation services,” Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said in a statement. “But legislative budget cuts — specifically to recreation maintenance — have forced these decisions.”
According to the official statement, the DNR has received more than $8 million in cuts to its recreation program in the past two years.
Upthegrove went on to say that the final budget did come in “less severe” than earlier proposals, so the agency was able to avoid further closures at this time.
The DNR’s recreation program manages millions of acres of state land for rustic recreation experiences, including overseeing day-use and overnight campgrounds. Other duties include clearing trails, cleaning restrooms and clearing storm damage.
Upthegrove warned that the effects of the budget cuts will be wide-ranging.
“Decreased funding for maintenance has a cascading effect — storm recovery will take longer, trailhead bathrooms will not be stocked, there will be more trash on trails, and sites will be less maintained and staffed due to a lack of resources,” he said in the statement.
DNR recreation employs 60 field staff members to oversee recreation across the state of Washington. That’s the equivalent of one staff member per 21.6 miles of trail, or 50,000 acres. Previously, the DNR had a partnership with Washington Conservation Corps for the equivalent of an additional 70 field staffers, but funding fell through during the 2025 legislative session.
At this time, the DNR recommends checking its website for updated closures and reporting any illegal activities or disrepair. It also recommends, as always, that hikers and campers practice responsible recreation and leave no trace.
Washington State Parks told The News Tribune on Friday that it is suffering from similar budget cuts, with the agency beginning the current fiscal year with over $6 million in cuts and other reductions.
A representative from Washington State Parks told The News Tribune that the ongoing budget reduction that will carry into the 2027–29 biennium, where cuts will total an additional $2.5 million.
Over a period of four years, State Parks will have more than $8.5 million in direct cuts with impacts to staff and services.
No plans to close state parks have been made official at this time.
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