Sun Lakes is located in Grant County, 7 miles southwest of Coulee City on State Highway 17.

Acreage

4,023.71 acres and 73,640 feet of freshwater shoreline. Sun Lakes includes Lake Lenore Caves Historical Area, 213.70 acres.

Acquired

Sun Lakes State Park was acquired in fifteen parcels, beginning in 1933, with the last acquisition in 1972, for a total cost of $55,960.52 from the Bureau of Land Management, DNR, and approximately 1/3 from private ownership.

Historical Background

The park is part of the geologic formation created by runoff from the last glaciation. Sun Lakes was originally called Dry Falls but was renamed, at the request of the then Lt. Governor, Vic Myers, as being descriptive of the area.

Facilities

174 standard sites, 18 utility sites, 10 group campsites, 90 picnic sites, Visitor Center, 300 feet of beach, boat launch, Environmental Learning Center with a capacity of 84 people, 7 restrooms, 3 residences (permanent) and 3 residences (seasonal), 3 shops, trailer dump, mower shed, 6 pumphouses, 15.5 miles of hiking trails, 2 equestrian trails, 27.5 miles of road, 5 sewage lagoons. The Commission has a concession agreement with Sun Lake Park Resort, Inc., to provide the following: horseback riding, golf course, cafe, general store, boat rental, 50 cabins and 10 mobile homes, 112 utility campsites, laundromat, and marina. This agreement expires in September 1998. The Commission also has a concession agreement with Tower Optical Company to provide optical viewing binoculars at Dry Falls Overlook.

Activities

Camping, swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, golf, sun bathing, hiking, interpretive viewing, and canoeing.

Of Special Interest

Sun Lakes State Park is located in the Lower Grand Coulee below and including Dry Falls. Four of the seven lakes in the park were formed by former plunge pools from the Falls. The park is on the north side of over 10,000 acres of the best example of the channeled scab lands from the Lake Missoula Floods that dot eastern Washington.