Steamboat Rock State Park

This is an expansive state park campground on the shores of Banks Lake. We stayed here on what had to have been one of the hottest days of the summer in 2012. And not being boaters or into water sports, we found ourselves without much to do. It was too hot to hike in the desert. Too hot to fish. All we could do was take occasional dips in the lake.

If you're in to water sports, this is the park for you. There's a marina for launching bigger boats and numerous beaches and access points where you can swim and launch smaller personal watercraft (like rafts and canoes).

Banks Lake is surrounded by scablands, basalt cliffs, and sagebrush. There's Steamboat Rock, which is the most prominent basalt feature in the park. It's an uphill hike to the top through the scablands. Watch out for rattlers.

The campground offers something for everyone; full hookup sites to tent sites and everything in between. It can get noisy in the summer with families and loud boats.

Lovely spot along Banks Lake. Nicely designed park with three distinct loops, clean restrooms and spacious sites. There are lots of activities to keep visitors busy— hiking, water sports, fishing.

Beautiful views, lots of wildlife like Canada geese, wild turkeys, marmots and eagles. Don't miss hiking up to the top of the Steamboat Rock. Dicey footing but well worth the rewarding views at the top! A few miles south are the Lenore Lake Caves which are cool, too.

Two downsides: the coin-operated showers. 50 cents for 3 minutes, which is ridiculous considering the already high "shoulder season" rates; the redundant, cryptic check-in process which includes having to use a special yellow telephone and the overly-complex variable rates of the Washington state parks system. If you can overlook these, then you'll have a great visit here!

Steamboat Rock State Park (Grant County, Washington) is on a peninsula extending into Banks Lake near the Grand Coulee Dam, and is my favorite campground in Eastern Washington. It is the opposite of nearby Sun Lakes State Park -- with its "herds" of chubby kids with inflatable seahorses running like lemmings back and forth to Park Lake, the small campsites, and the general crowding. Steamboat Rock is lush, spacious, has trails to little pockets of rock formations like the Magic Rocks we had as kids and, mercifully, places for the kids to be entertained apart from the camping area. Relax, climb the "Rock" with its view of the Grand Coulee Area, and enjoy the grandeur of this area. For more info click on http://campeverycountywa.com/campgrounds-by-county.html

Our first site 86, has a great view of the water, with close, easy access to a good beach for boats/watercraft. And it has a nice shade tree, not all them do, watch out for the sprinklers! Site 75 was near by but not facing the water and about 75 yards further from the water. Would have liked to stay in our first spot, but the park is nearly always booked solid in the summer. Currently there are 3 areas but it looks like they're putting a fourth. This popular park can use it. Both sites had full hook-ups with 20-30-50 amp power.

This was our first time camping in this park, but we will return. It was perfect. The bike and walking trails are sweet with breathtaking lake views. We had deer and wild turkey come into camp and the weather was sweet, mostly sunny but with a little rain and wind. It was Autumn so we expected a little weather. The only problem that we had was that we could not have a campfire and we brought food for cooking over a fire and had to adjust to cooking inside. We love sitting around a campfire at night, so it was disappointing. On the other hand we do not want to be responsible for fires in the park. It would be a true sin for this beautiful park to be destroyed . . . so not having a fire was okay :) Also the area had sandy beaches everywhere and although the water was very cold it was perfect for kayaking.

Really nice park. B section has new washrooms etc. Bit expensive

A wonderful place for all family members - adults & kids.

We were hoping to work remote to extend our stay but only had 1 bar RTT (voice only) on Verizon. Just be aware and plan to be offline when you’re here.

We will return!

The park was expensive for a state park, but it had full hookups and lots of space between sites. All campsites are walking distance to the beach. Pay showers, clean bathrooms. The park seemed newer. They are even building a new campsite, so this place has a ton of space. The BAY campground did not have as many trees, but the other 2 loops looked to have ample shade, though I'm uncertain on those hookups.

The Steamboat Rock trail is a must. One of the best hikes I have ever done.

Plenty of room for big rigs

Playground was closed, maybe because of "pandemic"

We enjoyed our stay at steamboat and would definitely stay here again. A couple of things to note: 1. firewood is stored in a box near the bathrooms and is an honor system. However, the firewood goes very quickly so I would advise getting some early or just buying some at the Safeway in town. 2. Cell service is very spotty. Other reviews said ATT gets 3 bars but that’s simply not the case. We got 1 bar on ATT and 1 bar on Verizon’s extended network which wouldn’t even send texts reliably. As with most state parks, there is no WiFi. If you rely on internet or phone during your stay, you’ll have to go into town 15 mins away to get reliable cell service.

This was a wonderful State Park. New or like new electric pedestal, and the H2O and Sewer cap were all in a great spot. Paved and level pad. No need to break our Anderson Blocks. Great lawn area in the middle of the sites in the Bay loop (and the others I believe). Nice fish cleaning station and rest room & shower facilities. There was a great hike to the top of Steamboat Rock with the trail head across the road. We stayed in late March. This is Eastern Washington so not much shade. I would recommend this for early spring and Fall but could be a bit hot without shade in the Summer.