Where to swim in the Basin
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
The Basin has lots of places to beat the heat, including pools, parks and beaches.
FILE PHOTO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | July 13, 2026 2:07 PM
MOSES LAKE — In case you haven’t noticed, it’s hot. And it’s likely to get hotter before the summer is over. Which makes plunging yourself into water seem like a really nice idea.
Here in the Columbia Basin, there are plenty of places to do just that. Many of our communities have a swimming pool or a water park. And in those that don’t, there’s usually a body of natural water to take a dip in. Here are some places to go when you just can’t stand being out of water any longer.
Moses Lake
Surf ‘n Slide Water Park
401 W. Fourth Ave., Moses Lake
This is the big kahuna, with not only swim areas of all depths, but also water slides for everyone from toddlers to adults, a lazy river with tubes to float on and the only FlowRider surf simulator east of the Cascades. Find out more, including hours and admission prices, at surfnslide.com.
Several Moses Lake parks have lake beaches with unsupervised swimming areas:
Blue Heron Park, 111 Westshore Dr NE
Montlake Park, 401 Linden Ave.
Cascade Park, 2001 W. Valley Road
Ephrata
Splash Zone
780 A St SE
Here you’ll find water slides for big people and small, a zero-depth play area for the really small, lap swimming space and a sandy play area. Visit ephrata.org to find out more.
Quincy
Quincy Aquatic Center
724 F St SE
Quincy’s facility opened this year with a lazy river, zero-depth kiddie pool, three water slides, a rope swing and a climbing wall. More information can be found at www.quincywashington.us.
Soap Lake
Soap Lake doesn’t have a pool, but it does have a lake with water that’s reputed to have healing qualities. The lake is easily accessible at both East Beach Park (125 1st St NE) and Smokiam Park (301 Daisy St N).
State Parks
Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park
34875 Park Lake Road NE, Coulee City
There’s water of all kinds at this state park. Park Lake has a roped-off swimming area, but there are also 15- and 30-foot cliffs to jump off – very carefully, and at your own risk – at Deep Lake.
Steamboat Rock
51052 Highway 155, Electric City
The day-use area at this park has a roped-off swimming area with a beach on one side and a small island at the other.
Adams County
Ritzville Water Park
109 E 10th Ave,
Ritzville’s water park, located in the city park, has two water slides, a lap pool, a diving board and wading pools. Find out more at www.cityofritzville.com.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.