Mooncrow's Naturist Pages: Wanapum Dam Reservoir

Wanapum Dam Reservoir is located in central Washington a little upriver from the Vantage Bridge where I-90 meets the Columbia River about 5 east of Vantage. This is a popular watering hole for CO and Textiles so it might be advisable to use the farthest beaches on the weekends. The area has beautiful basalt rock formations good for rock climbing. The area also has good sailing and other water sports. It is also a popular spot for trail bikes along the sandy roads and trails.

DIRECTIONS: Take I-90 to exit 143 (Silica Rd) about 5 miles east of Vantage. Turn under the overpass and follow approx. 1/2 mile to first intersection, turn left on Vantage Road, and follow to end about 4 miles. Road ends at waters edge and boat ramp. You will see a boat landing and a parking lot with no restrooms. Trail to left through gate about a 1/2 mile hike to beaches and a bluff with a good view. Click here for a rough map to the site.

Subject: Wanapum Reservoir
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002
From: Eddie Baker <ebaker5@hotmail.com>

Visited the Wanapum Dam Reservoir twice last week and it was wonderful. Sunny, 90s, and cool water. Hardly anyone around during the week, only a couple other naturists and one couple who debated for a while and then went skinny dipping. Quite a few people at the boat launch but none came down to the beaches.

Water has come down so there is quite a bit of beach. The Army Corp is doing some "improvements" at the site, but they didn't bother anyone.

Love to hear from anyone else who visits Wanapum.

Jack

The Yakama Nation no longer is considering taking control of the Wanapum dam as spoken of in a recent article in the Spokesman Review.

Subject: First trip to Vantage WA this year
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002
From: Casy Richards (ecapsx@hotmail.com)

On April 3 2002 the weather was warm with no wind. We climbed the sand dunes and small cliffs. The water is still to cold except to wade in. We saw maybe 4 or 5 other nudist in the 3 hours we (my dog and I) were there. My wife was out of town this week. Hope to see more there as the whether gets even betted. KCD

Subject: Bad news to report.
Date: Fri, 04 Jan 2002
From: Jack Recasner (seahawkopolis@hotmail.com)

Thanks for the recent updates; I understand how difficult it can be to encourage Northwest nudist discussions at this time of the year. Anyways, I have a few comments about some of our Eastern Washington CO beaches that may be of interest.

Unfortunately, it appears that we may lose Wanapum Dam Reservoir within the next three years. A recent article in the Spokesman Review mentioned that the Yakama Indian Nation wants to take control of the dam and its surrounding recreational area when the current licensing period expires (2005). While it is a rare occurance for a hydroelectric agency to lose an operating permit, and I know of none in the Pacific Northwest that have, pressure from Native American groups could include a court battle over the use of this dam (and a few others in Eastern Washington). Information about the relicensing of Wanapum is difficult to come by; but if you are a user of the beaches along the resevoir please take note of this pending situation and voice your support for maintaining the dam.

Of more immediate impact to CO beach users in Eastern Washington is the situation at Lower Monumental Dam. Due to the sad events of September 11th, the Army Corps of Engineers have closed the road access across the top of the dam. This greatly impacts access to the Snake River Dunes, one of the few clothing optional beach areas in this part of the state. In view of the continued high state of security we are experiencing, this situation could become a permanent policy this spring. Boat travel is still a viable option, as the boat launches and marina are located on the eastern side of Lake Bryan. However, if traveling by car, it appears that one will have to travel an extra 30 miles or so to reach the Illia dune area (if coming from Pullman/Moscow, the most likely originating point for most users). I'm currently researching maps to find the best alternate travel route in view of the dam closure; however, I'll hold off on discussing them until I can determine their validity myself (later this spring).

If anyone has any comments about these two situations, please feel free to email me about them so that we can start a discussion/plan of action. Clothing optional recreation is a rare thing in Eastern Washington, and the loss of these two spots would really hurt the health of FKK in this area.

Subject: Wanapum Dam Reservoir
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001
From: Elaine Daniels (ecapsy@hotmail.com)

My hubby & I were at the Wanapum reservoir on May 9 2001. The weather was nice. Not too many others there, a couples of guys sunbathing to the north of us. Had a nice afternoon. Lots of good bird watching a rock climbing in the area. highly recommend it.

Elaine

My wife and I we there the afternoon of 4/25/2001. The weather was great at about 85º. We only say four others there, two guys and a couple. We virtually had the place to ourselves. Our dog ran up and down the beach for 45 minutes. She loved it. One word of caution there was some broken glass on the beach. We cleaned some of it up. If you go there please pickup a little more then you bring in. I sure all who visits there will appreciate it.

I was at this site on last of Aug.23-24, and it was great. Not too many naturists during the week, but the area is clean and there was a sheriff car at the parking lot for the benefit of the concert goers. No problem for us nudes he was just making sure people who come down there mind their manners in the lot.

Subject: directions to Wanapaum
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000
From: Alan Clinton (notanline_me@yahoo.com)

Just a note so people can find Wanapaum Resevoir. The directions posted on your website are inaccurate. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Not any longer, thanks to you.] The one thing that is right is to take exit 143 which is Silica Rd. Turn under the overpass and follow app. 1/2 mile to first intersection, turn left on Vantage Road, and follow to end about 4 miles. Road ends at waters edge and boat ramp. There is a parking lot but no restrooms. Very secluded and private site. Trail to left through gate about a 1/2 mile hike to beaches. During the week usually only a few naturalists, and some textiles. Textiles tend to stay close to boat ramp and rarely wander down to beaches. Water is great and one can walk out quite far before it gets deep. Suggest wearing water socks or sandals as there is some broken glass. Weekends can be busy with all the concerts going on at the Gorge. Pack it in pack it out. Thanks

Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000
From: Name Withheld by Request

Dear Mooncrow,

I know you just updated your listing for Wanapum Dam in Washington State, but I have some recent info that might be important. So when you get a chance, please put this in the listing for that site.

Was at Wanapum Dam recently and met a gentlemen on a trail bike-- he said he was the owner of the property that is next to the beach itself. He was quite nice and told me he has no problem at all with naturists. The only issue with him, however, was the freshly painted rocks all around the site. Several rocks have been painted with "go nude" with arrows pointed to the nude area and such. He was concerned that, in addition to defacing he natural setting, that this sort of thing would bring "gawkers" and others. I believe he is right. So while whoever did this was probably well-intentioned, it compromises the beauty of this location and may take endanger use of the site. Now, will anyone be willing to remove all this paint from the rocks?

Thanks,

Name witheld by request

Date: Wed, 10 May 2000
From: Name witheld by Request

Dear Mooncrow:

My family visited the Wanapum Dam site last weekend. It is very nice. Beautiful scenery. There were maybe a dozen people there, a mixture of clothed, nude and topfree. The parking lot has signs requiring a Washington State Stewardship Access decal to be displayed on your car. These are available wherever hunting or fishing licenses are sold.

Thanks for maintaining this site,

Name witheld by Request.

I have visited this area 2-3 times a month for the past 4 years. It is a very nice area with few people. Most I have encountered are either nudists or they don't mind talking to nude people. It is close to the Gorge Amphitheater and on concert weekends there may be allot of younger people there. Most stay down toward the parking lot and boat launch and don't bother to go further down the lake toward the dam.(or better beaches) I highly recommend this area to anyone that likes to do a little nude hiking, swimming and sunning.

Hi...I visited Wanapum Dam area in September after all the kids and families were back in school. I was still hot and the Columbia River is a pleasant swim. I found a deserted area south of the dam but north of the train tressle. There are several gravel roads that lead off the highway on the east side of the river near Beverly. The roads are unmarked and they cross a rough terrain of river rock. The pay off is when you arrive at the rivers edge it is tree lined and you are out of sight of the highway. You virtually have the whole river to yourself. The river gently slopes as you walk in and you should wear some wet water shoes as the river rocks are slippery and hard on the feet. It took me 100 feet out to get to waist high water. I spent the whole day fishing in the nude and getting a tan and I was un-interrupted the whole day by anyone. A hammock between two trees would be nice but you should have a cushon or air mattress to lay on the beach as it is rocky. I find this place is totally undiscovered for nude sunbathing and swimming. See you next summer. (no name please)

Visited Wanapum yesterday. The road to the left at the T is "Vantage Road" - the old state highway from George to Vantage! It is no longer at a T since the road from the freeway continues to the north to the farm land and then on to Quincy. At the river - there was no restroom (at this time) but plenty of parking, a boat landing and plenty of garbage cans which the people who are visiting the area are using. It was also clean in the sun bathing area. You should take drinking water since there is none there.

For an update on Wanapum, I visited this beach repeatedly during this past summer ('96) on both weekdays and weekends and did not encounter any problems. Generally, there is no one around. The police seem to patrol (or visit) the area on a fairly regular basis but never did see them go any further than the parking lot. There was one portable restroom at the parking lot. The best way to go is climb over the fence at the parking lot and walk down the dirt road until you reach the area of the last 2-3 trees (about 1/4 mile). The beach area is the nicest at that point; sandy and the river area at that point has a sandy bottom. You can walk out until the water is about 3-4 feet deep before you begin to encounter any real rocks. On weekends you can expect to see one or two people ride up and down the road on their ATV's, but none of them gave any hassle about my being there. There is a sign posted that there is no overnight camping, however, I saw people camped by the boat landing and RVs in the parking lot overnight with no apparent problems. You can access the area by walking through a turnstile at the boat landing, but you end up wandering through some low brush. Walking down the road was just easier. I located this spot through the World Guide and decided to check it out one day. Glad I did. A nice spot and a good place to take a rest break if you are commuting across the state like I was doing.

WANAPUM DAM RESERVOIR, WASHINGTON