Governor Inslee and his health advisors have been working hard at formulating a plan for reopening the state using a phased approach. The idea is to restart activities and businesses that carry low risk as soon as possible, and then stagger subsequent reopenings based on the best advice from disease experts.
Starting on May 5th several options will be available to state residents for enjoying the outdoors that have been shut down for the last month or more.
Starting today all state parks, wildlife areas, and water access sites are completely closed.
Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks are completely closed.
The National Forests have not announced specific trail closures, but all facilities such as trailhead bathrooms and visitor centers are closed.
Last night Governor Inslee issued a statewide stay at home order. The order is in effect until April 6th.
Luckily parks are still on the allowed activities list, as long as you follow all other precautions, which include not going if you are sick or know you have been exposed, and keeping at least six feet away from other people.
Here’s the list of activities that are still allowed under the new order:
Too many people who are flocking to Seattle area parks and other places like Snoqualmie Falls to avoid going stir crazy are ignoring social distancing precautions.
Police have been forced to disband large groups at places like Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill and Alki Beach. People are also ignoring the closure of all active recreation facilities like playgrounds and basketball courts.
The city is already discussing the possibility of completely closing all parks if people continue to disregard distancing safety measures. Stiff fines and potentially jail time would be imposed on anyone ignoring park closures if they are shut down.
We need to maintain access to parks so we have a place to get outside in these stressful times! Don’t ruin it for everyone. Keep your distance from other people at all times.
What you can do:
Park Preview 