Name of area: Banks Lake
Where: Just Southwest of Grand Coulee Dam, WA
How do I get there from Walla Walla?: Take Hwy. 12 to Tri-Cities. Take I-182 to the Vantage, West Richland exit. Follow the signs to Vantage as you turn northwest onto Hwy. 240. Stay on this road as it crosses the Columbia at Vernita Bridge and then heads upstream past Desert Air and Mattawa. At the stop sign, turn left on Hwy. 26. After one mile, get on I-90 headed east-bound. Just past George exit northbound on Hwy. 283 towards Ephrata. Take Hwy. 28 through Ephrata to Soap Lake. At Soap Lake, head north on Hwy. 17. Follow Hwy. 17 north to Hwy. 2. Turn right (east) on Hwy. 2 and cross Dry Falls dam. One mile past the dam turn left (north) on Hwy. 155. Follow the east shore of Banks Lake north past the entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park. Granite butresses appear from beneath the basalt a few mile further north.
How long is the drive? 4.5 hours
What's there?: Granite blobs and buttresses on islands and along the northern shores of the lake. Spokane's Marty Bland has written a guidebook to the area that details at least 70 new routes plus great bouldering.
Land Ownership: Washington Fish and Wildlife
Pros: Good rock, Interesting setting, no crowds, camp on a beach.
Cons: A very long drive. Hot in summer.
Comments: Something different to do in the late spring or fall when you can't decide whether to go canoeing or climbing. This area often develops good frozen waterfalls in mid-winter.