Steamboat Rock
Steamboat Rock State Park is found just south of the Grand Coulee Dam in Central Washington State. It is right in the middle of the Grand Coulee that was formed by the scouring of the lands into the channeled scablands caused by the release of Glacial Lake Missoula at the end of the last Ice Age. In an earlier era, a basalt lava flow covered much of the area and Steamboat Rock is the remnant of the hardest rock outcrop which sat right in the middle of the deluge through the coulee.
When the Grand Coulee Dam was built, irrigation canals were also cut to create lakes and reservoirs down the length of the coulee to the south. Banks Lake is the first of these lakes. It surrounds Steamboat Rock on 3 sides. We drove out the narrow corridor of land to the Park at the foot the rock buttress. This is a beautiful park for camping, hiking, and boating. Early in the morning, the sun was shining on fields of wildflowers leading up to the cliffs.
The trail winds up through sand dunes, then up talus slopes to a route on rock shelves to the top.
From the south end of the rim views extend down the coulee along Banks Lake.
Steamboat Rock is surrounded by the lake on 3 sides. The cliffs rise 216m (709 ft) from the lake to the top of the mesa.
Our route followed the top rim on and off trails for about 5 miles.
We spotted lizards, rattlesnakes, lots of birds and, in spring the wildflowers were everywhere.
This was a winning spot in so many ways – a wonderful campground, an excellent hike, tonnes of wildflowers, and beautiful scenery.
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