Happy Birthday Washington State Parks! Celebrate free day on Sunday

To celebrate 104 years of Washington state parks, the community is invited to spend the day at places like Palouse Falls for free on Sunday.

Communication Manager Toni Droscher says the agency was authorized to start in 1913, but there was no funding so the parks didn't get established until 1921. The first parks were Larrabee State Park south of Bellingham and the Jackson house near Windlock off HWY 5. She adds a key point in time for the parks system was during the Great Depression.

"You have a great example right there near Pasco with Sacajawea State Park. There is a museum there that was built by the Works Progress Administration or WPA which was one of the New Deal projects to get men working during the Depression," says Droscher.

Sunday is a Discover Pass free day and the next one is not until April 15th. Palouse Falls is open this weekend, but Sacajawea State Park is not expected to open for the season until March 28th.