Updated 08/29/2021
Check out the weather conditions before heading up to the Basin, see the "Rain, Wind, Reservoir & River Conditions" page.
Due to high fire danger NO FIRES ARE ALLOWED.
REGISTRATION is free and is REQUIRED to use any of the roads and recreation sites. Sites are open daily from dawn until dusk, unless indicated otherwise here. At all recreation areas on PUD property, please practice social distancing and follow state mask requirements.
The Sultan Basin Road is a County maintained road and is paved for the first 10.5 miles. The final 3 miles to Olney Pass (end of County road) are gravel, as are all roads on PUD property within the Sultan Basin.
OPEN: The South Shore Road and associated recreation sites, including access to the DNR Greider Lakes Trail are OPEN to vehicular traffic. The South Fork and South Shore recreation sites offer the only boat/kayak launches on the reservoir.
PARTIALLY OPEN: The South Shore boat launch is closed to trailered boats due to recent vandalism. However, kayaks and other watercraft may be carried to the lake and launched here. Trailered boats can still use the South Fork launch.
OPEN: Culmback Dam Road is OPEN to the Gateway Site. Pedestrian and bicycle access are OPEN across Culmback Dam. To protect the public and our essential workers, please practice social distancing with employees on site.
OPEN: Sultan River Canyon Trail is OPEN.
PARTIAL: The outer gate at 116th Street is open; however, the inner gate is closed to maintain social distancing for essential workers. Pedestrians may access the area inside of the outer gate, however, no access past the inner gate is allowed at this time.
PARTIAL: The Lake Chaplain Road and Diversion Dam Road areas are open daily, from 6am- 6pm, with the exception of Friday/Saturday/Sunday when the outer gate on the Lake Chaplain Road will close at 3:00. There is no public vehicular access across the Sultan River in this area, thus it IS NOT an option to bypass traffic on highway 2.
We will reassess the situation and update this website as applicable.
DIRECTIONS TO RECREATION SITES:
From Everett/Monroe: Take US Route 2 east through the town of
Sultan. A quarter-mile past town, turn left (north) onto Sultan Basin
Road. Follow the Basin Road 13.5 miles to Olney Pass.
From Seattle: Take State Route 522 east to Monroe. Take US Route
2 east and follow above directions.
From Olney Pass, follow the road left/west 1.4 miles to Culmback Dam and the Gateway Trailhead, or
Follow the road right/east 3.2 miles to the South Fork recreation site and boat launch, then continue an additional 2 miles to the South Shore recreation site and boat launch.
For more details:
(click to view map)
Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1