It’s well known that naturally blessed Washington has three national parks: Mount Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades. We reviewed those Sept. 30. The state also has many other federally preserved sites of interest — historical, recreational and monumental. Here’s an overview of some of those lesser-known, special places.
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
612 E. Reserve St., Vancouver, Wash.
Fort Vancouver was the administrative headquarters and main supply depot for the Hudson’s Bay Co.’s fur-trading operations in the 1830s and 1840s and was the center of political, cultural and commercial activities in the Pacific Northwest. Administered by the National Park Service.
Hanford Reach National Monument
Along the Columbia River between Ellensburg and Richland
The monument is named for the last non-tidal, free-flowing section of the Columbia River in the U.S. and is one of only two national monuments administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
319 Second Ave. S., Seattle
This storefront museum preserves the story of the rush to the Yukon gold fields in the 1890s and Seattle’s crucial role. Administered by the National Park Service.
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Stehekin Valley, between the north end of Lake Chelan and North Cascades National Park
Boating, fishing, and lakeshore camping are available in this remote area, which is part of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex of North Cascades National Park and the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Administered by the National Park Service.
www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/lake-chelan-national-recreation-area
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
Upriver on the Columbia from Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington
A 130-mile lake was created with completion of Grand Coulee Dam in 1941. The recreation area provides opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, camping, canoeing, hunting and visiting historic Fort Spokane and St. Paul’s Mission. Administered by the National Park Service.
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Sites along the Pacific Coast from Long Beach, Wash., to Cannon Beach, Ore.
The park encompasses historic sites related to the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06. Administered by the National Park Service.
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
Mount St. Helens, southwest Washington
A 110,000-acre monument was created in 1982 for education, recreation and research following the volcano’s eruption in 1980. Administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Nez Perce National Historical Park
Spalding Visitor Center, 11 miles east of Lewiston, Idaho, on U.S. 95
A collection of sites of interest in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana related to the history of the Nez Perce American Indian tribe. Administered by the National Park Service.
Nidoto Nai Yoni Memorial National Historic Site
The site of the former Eagledale ferry dock on Bainbridge Island, at the foot of Taylor Street
The site commemorates an event of March 30, 1942, during World War II, when 227 Japanese Americans were put on ferries to Seattle and sent to internment camps. Administered by the National Park Service and connected to Minidoka Internment National Historic Site in Idaho.
www.nps.gov/miin/historyculture/nidoto-nai-yoni-memorial.htm
Ross Lake National Recreation Area
Adjoins North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National National Recreation Area
Boating, fishing and camping are available. Administered by the National Park Service.
www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/ross-lake-national-recreation-area
San Juan Island National Historical Park
Friday Harbor
The park is made up of the sites of the British and U.S. armies’ camps during the Pig War. The camps were set up in 1859 in response to a border dispute triggered by the killing of a pig. Administered by the National Park Service.
Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Just west of Walla Walla
On Nov. 29, 1847, the family of Dr. Marcus Whitman and others were slain by Indians of the Cayuse tribe after a deadly measles outbreak. The site marks the role the Protestant mission played in white settlement and the demise of native civilization. Administered by the National Park Service.
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