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Columbia Basin
Wildlife Area Location
CONTACT INFORMATION
Greg Fitzgerald
Manager
6653 Road K NE
Moses Lake, WA 98837
(509) 765-6641
colbaswa@dfw.wa.gov
 
For more information on
Wildlife Areas, please contact
the WDFW Wildlife Program.

Phone: 360-902-2515
E-mail: wildthing@dfw.wa.gov

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Wildlife Area Search Tools   
     
 Index of Wildlife Areas and Units 
Columbia Basin Wildlife Area
Sun Lakes Unit
The 9,140 acres of the Sun Lakes unit are within the lower Grand Coulee, adjacent to Sun Lakes State Park and parts of Park, Blue, Alkali, and Lenore lakes. Glacial floods scoured and carved away millions of cubic feet of lava leaving behind a deep and long coulee rimmed by basalt cliffs. Park and Blue are popular rainbow trout fishing lakes and Lenore Lake is a quality Lahontan cutthroat trout fishery. Very little wetland vegetation exists. A stiff sage/Sandberg bluegrass community occupies most of the uplands. Big sage/Bluebunch wheatgrass occurs where there are pockets of soil. Bare rock is the most common feature of this unit. Peregrine falcons and other wildlife are found among the many spectacular geological features.
Viewing Opportunities

Birds

  • Birds of Prey
  • Eagles
  • Shorebirds
  • Songbirds
  • Upland Birds
  • Wading Birds
  • Waterfowl

    		•

    Mammals

  • Deer
  • Small Mammals

    		•

    Other

  • Butterflies
  • Reptiles/Amphibians
  • Wildflowers

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    How to Get Here
    Access Site #1
    Driving Directions
    From Moses Lake, take SR 17 north toward Soap Lake. Just north of Soap Lake, SR 17 enters the lower part of the Grand Coulee where it abuts Lenore Lake, Alkali Lake, Blue Lake and Park Lake in that order as you proceed north.

    See listing of Sun Lakes Access Sites and Facility Information

    Parking/Restroom Information
    WDFW maintains two parking areas with outhouses on Lenore Lake. They are both marked with signs on SR 17. At Alkali Lake, there is one parking area with a boat ramp and an outhouse near south end of lake. The WDFW parking area, outhouse and boat ramp for Blue Lake is on the east side near the middle of the lake. The east side access road (Blue Lake Road) connects to SR 17 just north of Alkali Lake. WDFW does not have a developed parking area on Sun Lake, but there is a public fishing area on the southeast part of the lake just north of Laurent's Resort.
     
       OTHER INFORMATION
    • Columbia Basin Wildlife Area Management Plan & Updates
    • Wildlife Area Habitat Conservation Plans
    • Weekender Report
    • Wildlife Area Viewing Guide
    • Accessing Washington's Outdoors
    Find a Water Access Site
       MAPPING
    • Sun Lakes Unit - Detailed Land Ownership & Resource Map
    • GoHunt - Interactive Mapping
    Vehicle Use Permit
    Vehicle Use Permit
    Permit required for use of all WDFW lands.
       OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
    No activities currently listed for this Unit.
     

    If you are Hunting or Fishing, remember to check all current regulations.

    Activities may include restrictions or require permits. Please see Public Conduct Rules for more information.

    Find a bug or error in the system? Let us know about it!
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