Acreage
181.97 acres with 3,996 feet of freshwater shoreline.

Acquired
The park was acquired in four parcels; the first in 1951 and the last in 1970, for a total of $50,001. An additional 4.87 acre parcel was acquired by trade in 1991.

Historical
Quote from May 14,1974, issue of Wenatchee Daily World, "A Background: Pateros man's (Leonard Therriault) team of horses pulling free an Okanogan man's touring car stuck in the sand, many years ago, ultimately led to the creation of Alta Lake State Park."

The occurrence involved P.T. Harris, then supervisor of the Okanogan National Forest. He so much appreciated Therriault helping get his car back on the road that he called on him for a chat every time he was in Pateros. On one such friendly stop, Harris offered to let him homestead on 59 acres of land at Alta Lake which the Forest Service planned to surplus.

Therriault and his wife, knowing that there was no road to the land, -- offered at $2,400 -- and that they would have to put in improvements and live on it part of the time, turned down the offer, but suggested the city of Pateros be allowed to buy it for use as a park. Harris said "okay" and in 1924 the town started negotiations to buy the land. It took an Act of Congress in 1928 to accomplish it. Later, the State Auditor insisted that the city could not own property beyond the city's limits. The argument continued until 1951 when State Parks showed an interest in Alta Lake. So the town of Pateros gave the Commission the land. Result: Alta Lake State Park.

In 1900, a jeweler, Mr. Heinz, from Wilbur, Washington, was working a mine in the Pateros area. When he discovered the lake was unnamed, he named it for his daughter, Alta Heinz.

Facilities
20 picnic sites, 148 standard campsites, 32 utility campsites with electricity, 9 group campsites (capacity 88 people), 2 kitchen shelters, 3 comfort stations, 300 feet of beach, 2 boat launch ramps, 2 residences, 1 seasonal residence, shop, hiking trail 0.6 mile long, a bathhouse, a boat launch dock and a trailer dump.

Activities
Picnicking, camping, bird watching, hiking, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, fishing, scuba diving, boating, water skiing and swimming.