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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Weekend's outdoor options fill up quickly By Julie Muhlstein, Herald columnist The sun's full force last weekend did more than heat up the place. It switched on a mental light bulb, the one that says, "Hey, time to play." After our dreary spring, better make some Memorial Day weekend plans, right? What I found out while daydreaming of pitching a tent at Deception Pass is that it's too late to make plans like that -- way too late. "Some families make reservations nine months in advance. A lot of people do," said Linda Burnett, a spokeswoman with the Washington state Parks and Recreation Commission. Burnett explained that camping reservations in the state parks system can be made no longer than nine months ahead of a planned stay. Good planners call or go online exactly nine months before their trips, she said. That means I should have been booking a campsite back when I was buying Halloween candy. Virginia Painter, state parks public affairs director, said popular parks with campgrounds book up for Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends months ahead, and well in advance for all the other summer weekends. "If you can, go midweek. It's a little quieter," Painter said. During the week, people without reservations also have a chance to get a spot if someone with a reserved site doesn't show up, she said. The state has more than 100 parks, not all with camping. Painter said about 54 have reservation-only campgrounds. Twenty-five parks, most in remote parts of Washington, have first-come, first-served camping. Checking the state parks reservation Web site, www.camis.com/WA/camping, I found a grid showing schedules for all the parks, with availability color coding. The categories are "Go ahead -- make my stay!" "Getting full -- you may get lucky!" and "Mostly full -- explore other parks and dates." The last category is in bright red, and that's the hue for nearly every park from this Saturday through Monday. Last I checked, there was room at Osoyoos Lake, Nine Mile and Kitsap Memorial state parks, all far from Deception Pass, South Whidbey State Park or other likely destinations on my list. Close to home, many campgrounds run by the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest are still closed because of late snow. Allen Gibbs, a public affairs officer with the national forest, had me check a list of campgrounds on a Web site run by Hoodoo Recreation Services, which handles the agency's reservations. The site, www.hoodoo.com/Campground_prices_MBS.htm, shows that many campgrounds in the Darrington and Mount Baker ranger districts won't open until June 13, and even that date depends on snow. Up the Mountain Loop Highway, Verlot, Gold Basin and Boardman Creek campgrounds are among those open or partially open. Those are about 60 percent reservation-only campsites, and the first-come, first-served sites fill up early. "We're trying like mad to get as much open as we can," said Renee Bodine, a public affairs officer with the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. "It's very much related to elevation. The low snow made it difficult to get in there and clean up. Even some of the trail heads look like they should be open, but a half-mile up it's snow." If camping is out, what about a plan B? The Sasquatch Music Festival brings R.E.M., Modest Mouse and other big acts to the Gorge over the holiday weekend. Last I checked, tickets are available. Hotel rooms are another matter. At the Quality Inn & Conference Center in Ellensburg, where Gorge concertgoers find refuge instead of driving back over Snoqualmie Pass after midnight, Alan Cajachagua said all rooms for this weekend have been booked for months. "It depends on the performer, but for big Gorge concerts we fill up two months ahead," said Cajachagua, adding that other hotels in town are also filled for Memorial Day weekend. What about Labor Day? Cajachagua could only laugh. "That's a double whammy," he said. Dave Matthews plays the Gorge every Labor Day weekend, and it's also Ellensburg Rodeo time. The hotel has been booked for months, Cajachagua said. As of Tuesday, Ocean Shores hotels had Memorial Day weekend openings, but I couldn't find a room in Cannon Beach, Ore. Next stop on my head trip of nearby favorite places was British Columbia. Why not go first class? At a Web site for the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, I checked for best-available rooms. No problem, the Empress has openings this weekend -- for suites starting at $709 Canadian per night. Wow, looks like I'll be day-tripping this year. And I'm not the only one likely to be home puttering around this weekend. "I was going to go to Deception Pass," said Bodine, who was surprised at how early state park campgrounds book up. "I guess it would be like going to the mall, with so many people." Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.

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