Camping reservations available at Cape Disappointment, construction postponed

OLYMPIA – The season isn’t over for Cape Disappointment State Park.

Much of the park, including its campground, was tentatively scheduled to close this month through May 2025 while crews completed projects including a culvert replacement, a new entrance road, a new Welcome Center and trail work. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission decided to postpone this work until next fall.

Anticipated delays in permitting for the park entrance and delayed arrival of materials for the culvert replacement led to this postponement. Both of these factors posed a risk to the project’s timeline and State Parks’ desire to have the park fully reopened by Memorial Day, one of the most popular camping weekends of the year.

“One of our main priorities for this project is to minimize the impact to visitors by completing all of the necessary work during one targeted time window rather than having several separate closures,” said Parks’ Southwest Region Manager Miles Wenzel. “We recognize Cape Disappointment is one of our most popular parks, so we want to be efficient with any closures that impact people’s ability to visit this beautiful place.”

The project and necessary closures are expected to begin after Labor Day 2025. Though these renovations will create an easier, enhanced experience for visitors, the postponement does not pose a risk to staff or visitor health and safety. Learn more about the improvements here.

Reopened camping

State Parks closed camping availability during the anticipated closure window. The park is currently issuing permits for first come, first served camping only. Campsites will fully reopen for advance booking through the Washington State Parks Reservation System at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23.