New campgrounds, bathrooms added to Asotin Wildlife Area

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is continuing to add recreational facilities to popular sites at the Asotin Wildlife Area.

Last fall, the agency used a grant from the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office to build a pair of small campgrounds at Sourdough Gulch and Cabin Gulch, both along Lick Creek Road.

Bob Dice, manager for the Blue Mountains Wildlife Area Complex, that includes Asotin Creek, said he expects the campgrounds that include gravelled back-in pads and fire rings to be well used.

“Probably mostly by people who are up there hunting,” he said. “But they could certainly be used by anybody up on the wildlife area. It would be a nice pleasant place to camp in spring and early summer before it gets too hot.”

Vault toilets will be installed at both campgrounds and at the North Fork of Asotin Creek Trailhead, at a shooting range near the confluence of the north and south forks of Asotin Creek, and another on Smoothing Iron Ridge, later this spring or summer.

The 36,500-acre area southwest of Clarkston butts up against the Umatilla National Forest and is a popular close-to-home spot for hiking, camping and hunting for people who live in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.

Until the recent upgrades, recreational infrastructure there has been fairly modest. The area is laced with a number of hiking and horse trails. Both Sourdough and Cabin gulches serve as trailheads. A trail along the North Fork of Asotin Creek is popular with mountain bikers, horse riders and hikers.

The Twin Rivers Backcountry Horsemen help to maintain trails there and have plans for clearing and rebuilding trails this summer. Club president Paul Bogar said the bathrooms in particular will be a welcome addition.

“It’s really going to take care of a problem because of the human waste these people leave around the turnouts and camping areas. It’s not fun,” he said.

Other recent amenities to the greater Blue Mountains Wildlife Area Complex include developed camping spots and toilets along the Grande Ronde River at Snyder Bar and Schumaker, and the addition of a toilet at the Botts access area near Boggan’s Oasis.

Most of the Asotin Wildlife Area is closed to vehicle access until April 1. There is no fee to use the campgrounds but people do need either a Washington Discover Pass or a parking pass that comes with the purchase of a Washington hunting or fishing license to access the recreation area.