OLMSTEAD PLACE STATE PARK
Olmstead Place State Park is a 217-acre day-use park that features a working pioneer farm. The park hosts tours and school field trips. Pioneer artifacts are plentiful in the park, and many can be seen in action in the work of maintaining the farm. Picnic space and walking trails interweave with interpretive activities.
This area is the location of one of the first homesteads in the Kittitas valley. The Olmstead family arrived in 1875 and lived on the farm for about 100 years before donating it to Washington State Parks in 1968. Today, it continues to be a working farm, with some of the land still worked with old-fashioned equipment. The original 1875 log cabin and 1908 farmhouse (with the family's furnishings intact) are still standing, as are most of the outbuildings.
A Discover Pass is required for vehicle access to Washington state parks for day use. For more information about the Discover Pass and exemptions, please visit the
Discover Pass web page.
The park has no camping.
Olmstead Place State Park is located near Ellensburg, Selah
There are 17 unsheltered picnic tables in the park, along with a restroom. To reserve tables, call the state park office at (509) 925-1943.
1. South Loop Trail: This is a 2-mile loop trail that offers scenic views of the park's farmland and surrounding mountains. It features diverse flora, including wildflowers in spring.
2. North Loop Trail: A slightly longer route at about 3 miles, this path takes hikers through lush forests with occasional glimpses of wildlife such as deer or birds.
3. Pioneer Farmstead Pathway: An easy half-mile walk around an authentic pioneer farmstead showcasing historical farming equipment and buildings from the late-1800s era.
4. Riverside Walkway: Follows along Yakima River for approximately one mile offering beautiful river vistas; ideal for birdwatching enthusiasts due to its proximity to waterfowl habitats.
5. Cowiche Canyon Uplands Trails: These trails are located on hillsides overlooking Cowiche Creek providing panoramic views over Kittitas Valley below - they vary between moderate-to-strenuous difficulty levels depending upon chosen routes which range up to five miles long each way.
6. Wildflower Meadow Paths: Shorter paths winding through meadows filled with seasonal wildflowers - these offer gentle walks suitable even for younger children or less experienced walkers while still delivering stunning natural beauty during peak blooming periods (typically April-May).
7. Historical Orchard Route: Takes visitors past old apple orchards planted by original settlers here back in mid-nineteenth century - it's just under two-miles round trip making it perfect choice if you're looking something shorter yet interesting culturally/historically speaking too!
8. Ellensburg Canal Towpath Hike: Following alongside historic irrigation canal built early twentieth-century period provides unique insight into region's agricultural history plus chance see various local fauna/flora species thriving within riparian habitat zones created thanks presence permanent fresh-water source nearby!
Located four miles east of Ellensburg, WA and three miles west of Kittitas, Wash.
From I-90: Take exit #115 (Kittitas). Go north on Main Street to T-intersection. Turn left and go three miles. Turn left on North Ferguson Rd. Drive about 1/2 mile to park.