Yakima Sportsman State Park, Yakima, WA
NAME: Yakima Sportsman
Where: Located three miles southeast of downtown Yakima, Wash
Admission: 2008 Fees
An additional $2 per night is added to the basic camping fees listed below at this high-use park. Basic camping fees are:
Standard campsite, $17.
Full utility campsite, $24.
Partial utility campsite, $23.
Primitive campsite (accessible by motorized/non-motorized vehicles) and for water trail camping, $12
An additional $3 fee (standard) or $5 fee (utility) may be charged for select premium campsites at some parks.
Camping: The park has 30 tent spaces, 37 utility spaces, one dump station, two restrooms (both ADA) and four showers (all ADA). Utility sites 1 through 16 are 60 feet long, and sites 17 to 36 are back-in sites. Site HC is an ADA-utility site, and site 52 is an ADA-standard site. Sites 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, are near the creek.
URL: http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=Yakima%20Sportsman
Month/Year visited: 5/2002
Comments: To reserve a campsite, call (888) CAMPOUT or (888) 226-7688.
We used this park a lot, especially with the 5th wheel. The factory that made it is in Yakima and we visited once or twice, had some warranty work done. But the real reason is that its in the middle of wine country. We loved to come over for the weekend and tour the wineries. Its a nice park, out of the way, and usually quiet.
Yakima Sportsman State Park is a 247-acre camping park created in 1940 by the Yakima Sportsman’s Association to promote game management and the preservation of natural resources. The park is on the floodplain of the Yakima River and is an irrigated “green zone” in an otherwise desert area. The park has a variety of deciduous trees that shade camping and picnic areas. One hundred and forty bird species have been identified in the park. Ponds lure fishers to the river. The park is a popular stay-over spot for travelers and visitors to events in the Yakima area.
Hiking is allowed on two miles of unpaved roadway on the river dike. Ponds and lakes are stocked with fish. Juvenile fishing is allowed year-round. Adult fishing is permitted in the river in season.
The park is on a floodplain of the Yakima River. It is an irrigated desert with ponds and lakes and a variety of beautiful deciduous trees. The area receives an annual average rainfall of seven inches and an annual average of eight inches of snowfall. Summer temperatures are in the 80-to-90-degree range.
Old clay-pigeon traps may still be found in the park. They are remnants from the Yakima Sportsman Club, a hunting, fishing and shooting club that created the park in 1940. The club donated the park to Washington State Parks in 1956.
