Lake Wenatchee State Park

Markus standing on top of a log at the Lake Wenatchee State Park

About Lake Wenatchee State Park

While we were in Leavenworth, Washington a couple of weekends ago, we took some time out from exploring the town to explore nearby trails and parks with our dog Markus. About half an hour away from the town, we wound up at Lake Wenatchee State Park, which has a north and a south side on either side of the Wenatchee River. Although it started snowing while we were there, we had a blast being in the stillness of nature and enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Markus getting covered in snow standing in front of the lake at Lake Wenatchee State Park

Lake Wenatchee North Campground

Type: Trail
Length: 3.3 km
Traffic: Low
Route Type: Loop

Markus standing by the Wenatchee River by the campgrounds at Lake Wenatchee State Park

We started our time by driving about 5 minutes past Lake Wenatchee State Park to the campgrounds on the other side of the Wenatchee River. This is normally a campground as the name suggests, but since we were there during the winter, it near empty. The only people who were there were other people taking short walks in the woods.

At the campgrounds, there are plenty of areas for you to park and if you walked a little bit in, there's a short trail which curls around from Lake Wenatchee to the edge of the Wenatchee River. It's a great place for your dog to explore. If you keep following down this path, it'll go pretty close to the Main Street and eventually loop around back to the parking lot. It's not a long walk, but combined with the river and the lake nearby, it makes for a decent walk.

Markus standing on a fallen tree on the trail at the Lake Wenatchee North Campground

The woods here also aren't the thick Pacific Northwest forests that we're used to. It was a lot more sparse and you can see pretty clearly through the area. While we were here, though, it started to snow pretty hard so we quickly moved on to the second stop of this area: Lake Wenatchee State Park.

Type: Beach
Size: Medium to Large
Enclosed: No
Doors: None
Traffic: Moderate

About 5 minutes south of the campgrounds is Lake Wenatchee State Park. We absolutely lucked out with our timing because the snow had really started coming down at this point, but not to the point of it being dangerous to drive for us. That left the park completely empty and covered in untouched fresh snow. It was a winter wonderland. With nobody else there, the view of the lake with everything else blanketed in white was absolutely stunning.

We explored the rest of the park a little bit, but since the snow was really coming down, we weren't able to go too far for our safety. We mostly stayed around the beach area, which was enough for us. There were also plenty of logs for Markus to hop up on and a rocky area towards the right side of the beach where the view is just fantastic. There are also plenty of tables and areas for sitting for when the weather is better. It is definitely a place for families to enjoy and we saw places that rented out kayaks during the summertime.

What we liked

The views were great on both sides!
It was quiet when we were there.
The beach area had great areas for dogs to jump up on and play.

What we didn’t like

The trail itself isn't much. It's a small loop around the camp area and that's it, but even that was enough for Markus.

Our Recommendation for Reactive Dogs

While we had a quiet moment to ourselves, we didn't get the best indication of what the Lake Wenatchee State Park is like during peak season for reactive dogs since it was almost empty at both locations when we were there. Our summary of the area isn't going to be the best, but the paths and the beaches were fairly open and easy enough to avoid other dogs if necessary. I would be mindful of the fact that there might be off-leash dogs since they are beaches and campgrounds. That said, I would definitely return to Lake Wenatchee State Park because I'd love to see what it's like when it's full of people and not covered in snow!

A Discovery Pass is required for this state park.

Disclaimer

Markus is a reactive, but not aggressive dog. His instinct is to avoid other dogs and he may growl, bark or lunge if provoked, but will not attack. We normally do not have issues with leashed dogs when both sides are controlled, but we will be on guard when an oncoming dog is not leashed. There are varying levels to a dog’s reactivity and only you can decide if this park, trail or hotel is appropriate for your dog. Our visits generally will not include off-leash areas; most experiences shared on The Markus Project are within leashed or undefined areas.

Please remember that our past experience visiting a park, trail or hotel may not be the same as your experience at the same park, trail or hotel. We have no control of who visits the park and whether they adhere to park rules - like leashing their dogs on leash-required paths - or not. Please use your discretion with the information provided and with your personal knowledge of your dog’s reactivity when visiting these parks, trails or hotels.