If you don’t mind going for an early morning drive in order to go for hike, Washington State Parks has some New Year’s Day opportunities for you. This might just be your chance to start the whole year off right: greeting the great outdoors, meeting like-minded people and getting some healthy exercise.
Free “First Day” hikes are a modern tradition that hatched in Massachusetts in the 1990s, then soared in popularity after being adopted by state parks across the nation in 2012. Clark County’s Battle Ground Lake State Park has been the site of some First Day hikes recently, but no event is planned there on Jan. 1, 2025.
You’re still more than welcome on New Year’s Day to go enjoy Battle Ground Lake State Park on your own, of course. The good news about all Washington State Parks — and other state-managed public lands under the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Washington Department of Natural Resources — is that parking fees are waived Jan. 1, as well as several other holidays and special days. One dozen free-parking days are scheduled for 2025 and you can find the whole schedule at https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov.
(Parking at most state recreation lands normally costs $10 to buy a daily Discover Pass, or $30 for an annual pass.)
If you’re up for a trip outside of Clark County, though, numerous guided-hike outings await at state parks you may have blasted past at freeway speeds, but never stopped to explore. Ready now? Preregistration is required for some of these events but not others.
- Beacon Rock, 34841 Highway 14, Stevenson (about 35 miles east of Vancouver): hikes 10-11:30 a.m. and 2-4 p.m., 1.8 miles round-trip, 750-foot elevation gain. Preregistration required — send an email to Beacon.Rock@parks.wa.gov. Not ADA or stroller accessible, but appropriate for beginners. Dogs are OK but must be leashed at all times.
Towering Beacon Rock, an extinct volcanic plug perched at the edge of the water, may be the Columbia River Gorge’s signature landmark. Early Vancouver landowner Henry J. Biddle is the one who built the 848-foot, 52-switchback, fenced-off staircase to the top of the rock — a climb that looks scary from below but turns out to feel surprisingly solid, safe and not all that steep. If you’ve never admired the view from the top of Beacon Rock, perhaps New Year’s Day 2025 is the right time to check that box.
- Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake, 3029 Spirit Lake Highway, Castle Rock (about 55 miles north of Vancouver): 10-11:30 a.m. hike, 0.6 mile, mostly flat boardwalk. ADA and stroller accessible. No registration required. Rain gear and binoculars are recommended. The visitor center is closed, but the event leader will meet hikers in the building’s parking lot.
“Birdwalk on the boardwalk” is how Washington State Parks is publicizing this easy exploration of Silver Lake’s rich, gorgeous ecosystem. This lake, just 30 miles west of our local volcano, is an earlier, older example of natural post-eruption regeneration than the one we’ve witnessed in recent decades. Silver Lake was formed 2,500 years ago, after a volcanic blast and mudslide dammed off streams below the lake. Sound familiar?
This Silver Lake trip will be easy and slow. If you’re up for more afterward, consider venturing across the street to Seaquest State Park, a 475-acre camping park with 12 miles of hiking trails through lush pine forests.
- Lewis and Clark State Park, 4583 Jackson Highway, Winlock (about 70 miles north of Vancouver): 10 a.m.-noon hike, 2 miles round-trip. Expect the trail through this dense, furrowed landscape to be muddy and rough — it’s definitely not ADA accessible. Registration not required. This park is closed to cars in winter, so park in the gravel lot across Jackson Highway, walk across the road and past the entrance gate, meet the hiking group at the kitchen shelter (where a warm fire, hot drinks and snacks will be provided).
Lewis and Clark State Park, teeming with towering old-growth cedars and firs and a lush fern understory, has an interesting cultural history too — having been built by young men who lived onsite during the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s, and worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Learn their story as well as the deeper history of the site, and enjoy a scavenger hunt on the trail.
We’ve limited this list to First Day outings you can reach by car in about an hour. If you’re hungry to go farther, check the complete First Day Hikes list for events scheduled for Cape Disappointment (on the Pacific Coast) and farther north of here in the vicinity of Shelton, on the way into the Olympic Peninsula.
Finally, if you’re up for an unforgettable outing that isn’t a hike at all and will likely last for just a few seconds — but will surely test your mettle — consider the following, utterly frigid experience at the far end of the Columbia River Gorge.
- Maryhill State Park, 50 Highway 97, Goldendale (about 110 miles east of Vancouver): Annual polar plunge! Registration required via maryhill@parks.wa.gov. Meet on the beach at 10 a.m.
On Jan. 1, the water temperature all along the Lower Columbia River is usually just below 45 degrees, according to the Columbia River Operational Hydrometeorological Management System. So bring warm, dry clothes to change into — right away!
