Wanapum Recreation Area by Ginkgo Petrified Forest in Vantage / 瓦納普姆

  • Reading time:5 mins read

Wanapum Recreation Area rests south of Ginkgo Petrified Forest in Vantage at Ryegrass Mountain‘s foothills. The three-mile-long shoreline along the Columbia River offers various water activities throughout the year.

Columbia River south view from Wanapum Recreation Area
Columbia River south view from Wanapum Recreation Area

See more trip photos here.

Wanapum Recreation Area at a Glance

Access: Wanapum Recreation Area (park info)
Round Trip: 1.1 miles
Elevation Range: 600′-800′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

The Preface

Happy first hike of the year! Something in my left foot popped yesterday while snowshoeing. It probably had to do with the slight pain I felt during our trip two weeks ago. Though, I should’ve gone to the podiatrist back then.

Anyhow, while waiting to see the foot doctor, the pups and I came out to Eastern Washington. Since I walked slow and needed something flat, it was best to stay away from the crowds.

Frozen shoreline
Frozen shoreline

See more trip photos here.

Wanapum Recreation Area

For years, I’ve known about this place from exploring other nearby areas. But it’s not somewhere we’d visit during the warm season because of the activities. Today was a perfect day to come because it was the first day of the year. Woot!

We walked down to the river from Huntzinger Road, not far north of the campground. Funny to think that it could very well be our shortest hike this year. But what a way to warm up the rest of the year with a whopping one-mile trip?

Carefree
Carefree

See more trip photos here.

Outro

It flurried down by the shore. But we enjoyed the water view as the carefree ducks swam by from time to time. But now we needed to leave soon before it started to snow again in the afternoon.

It would’ve taken us hours to walk up and down the shoreline at my slow speed. So I decided to cut the trip short as not to exacerbate the discomfort in the foot. But glad we came out to enjoy the solitude nonetheless.

Finding our way home
Finding our way home

See more trip photos here.

Discover more from One Hike A Week / 每週一行

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading