Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

Campgrounds Open All Year Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area has 27 public campgrounds and boat-in-only campgrounds. Facilities vary in each and are listed in the chart below. Some campgrounds have individual sites, as well as large groupsites that can be reserved. Individual sites have a fire ring, picnic table and paved parking pads that are either pull-through or back-in pads. Campgrounds have sites that will fit most large RVs. There are no hook-ups in any of the campgrounds.

David Thompson David Thompson passed through the region, now part of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, almost 190 years ago. Originally from London, England, he came across the Atlantic at the young age of 14 to work for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1784.

Walking Trails

Outdoor Activities AUTO TOURING If you enjoy backroads then you will want to explore the area around Lake Roosevelt. You can make a small loop along roads that include WA 25, a mid-lake ferry crossing, and WA 21 through the Colville Reservation. Or, try a big loop that includes Republic, an old gold-mining town, and WA 20 over Sherman Pass, the highest year-round Washington State highway pass. 

The upper Columbia River gorge, within which Lake Roosevelt is contained, stands in stark testimony to its geology and climate. The national recreation area spans three distinct physiographic provinces: the Okanogan Highlands, the Kootenay Arc, and the Columbia Plateau. The geologic features of these three regions are radically different and the juxtaposition of these landforms is a major factor that contributes to the unique character of the area.

Mammals Moose are Loose at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area According to Washington State Fish and Wildlife at least 400 moose are estimated to live in Washington. Almost all are in the northeastern counties of Pend Oreille, Stevens, and Spokane. Occasionally moose are spotted in the northwestern and north-central counties of Whatcom, Okanogan, and Ferry, and a wanderer or two has been seen in other areas. But the only significant populations are in the northeast's Selkirk Mountains that range into Idaho and British Columbia.

Geology The geology around Lake Roosevelt and Northeastern Washington confused and confounded geologist for decades. There were always too many questions and not enough answers. Where did that large boulder or erratic, like the one in the picture to the right, come from? What created the coulees? To learn about the mysterious landscape around the lake and how geologist pieced together this unique geologic puzzle read the park produced booklet, Lake Roosevelt and the Case of the Channeled Scablands. 

Old Kettle Falls

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