Open house planned on future of Mount Spokane State Park

Washington State Parks officials are eyeing a pair of options for the future of their largest state park.

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission announced Friday that it is considering two proposals as part of the 20-year master plan for Mount Spokane State Park.

One is dubbed “Community Mountain,” which focuses on improving and maintaining existing facilities and trails at the 12,444-acre park in the southern Selkirk Mountains.

The other is called “Recreation Destination,” and would include new facilities, trails and other amenities meant to boost year-round visitation.

Parks officials will provide more information and seek public input on the two proposals at an open house at the Argonne Public Library from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Rex Schultz, a State Parks spokesman, said people will cast votes on what they like and don’t like about the two proposals, and that the agency’s planning department will use that feedback to form a to present to the Parks and Recreation Commission this fall.

The final recommendation will likely be a combination of the two scenarios, Schultz said.

The park is a popular winter destination with miles of Nordic skiing trails and the privately operated Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park, which sits on state park property. During the summer, it’s a popular hiking and bicycling destination.

Work on the master plan kicked off a little more than a year ago. The plan is meant to guide 20 years of work at the park, including projects like building trails and improving facilities.

Among the items that will be up for a decision in the coming years is what the park will do with Bear Creek Lodge, a property on the edge of the park’s western boundary that the agency purchased in 2023.

A state parks report published last month shows that under the “Community Mountain” option, officials would look to demolish the lodge so the land could be used in other ways.

Under the “Recreation Destination” option, the lodge would be renovated and the agency would look for a concession company to operate it.