ATTRACTIONS. Squilchuck State Park offers an easily accessed walk through frosty forests with fleeting vistas of nearby landscapes. It’s super fast to reach from Wenatchee, it’s pretty, and it’s good exercise.
Skill Level: 1 (beginner)
Fitness: 1 (beginner)
HOURS. Summer hours are from 8am until dusk. Winter hours vary from year to year, depending on the park’s budget. In recent years the park has typically been open from 8am until dusk on both weekends and week days. When open, you can park by the sledding hill and use the bathroom next to the parking lot. When closed, you can still park outside of the entrance (there’s a pullout just uphill of the gate blocking the entrance road) and walk/ski/snowshoe in the park.
DISTANCE. There are walks that vary from 0.5 to 3 miles in length, depending on which route you choose and whether you park near the lodge or outside of the park.
ELEVATION. Begin at 3000’ and climb to the ‘Meadow Loop’ at 3400’.
ACCESS. Leave the south end of Wenatchee on S. Mission Street. This merges with the Squilchuck Road. Follow Squilchuck Road about 7 miles to Squilchuck State Park (4 miles before the Mission Ridge Ski Area).
TRIP INSTRUCTIONS: Use either the lower trail access, located near the bulletin board at the bottom of the main parking area, or the upper trail access, which begins next to the sledding hill just up from the lodge. Rangers have run the trail system with a snowmobile to help show you the way and firm up the deep snow. The trails are also marked with small arrow signs to identify the route.
MAPS. See our map below.
USES ALLOWED. Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing (non-groomed and for skilled skiers only), hiking, and sledding.
USES NOT ALLOWED. Snowboarding, snowmobiling, metal-edged sleds, and dogs off leash.
LAND DESIGNATION. Washington State Parks
FEES/ PERMITS. Current signage states that a Discover Pass is required for parking.
TRIP REPORTER. Mike Barry, 1/15/2007. Updated February 2010 and Jannuary 2013 by WenatcheeOutdoors.
Leave It Better Than You found It. This should be every user’s goal. Pick up trash left by others, pull noxious weeds along your route, disperse old fire rings, throw branches over unwanted spur trails…
Disclaimer. Treat this information as recommendations, not gospel. Conditions change and those contributing these reports are volunteers–they may make mistakes or not know all the issues affecting a route. You are responsible for yourself, your actions, and your safety. If you won’t accept that responsibility, you are prohibited from using our information.
Leave a Reply