This 190-acre regional park stretches for 2.5 miles along the west shore of Vancouver Lake. With 35 developed acres, visitors can enjoy picnicking, windsurfing and sand volleyball.

Vancouver Lake is great for beginning windsurfing, kayaking and canoeing and hosts many rowing competitions during the year.

Learn more about Vancouver Lake Rowing Club, a non-profit youth, collegiate and masters rowing club.

The park also serves as a haven for wildlife and migratory waterfowl. Visitors to the park can also enjoy views of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams on clear days.

Check out this fun guide to the park, created by Super Nature Adventures (también en español).

Aside from guide dogs and service dogs, no domestic animals are allowed on the beach or surrounding turf area of Vancouver Lake Regional Park between April 1 and Oct. 31.

Facilities

• 2 picnic shelters
• 24 barbecue grills
• 65 picnic tables
• 2 sand volleyball courts - nets are typically up May 15 to September 15
• 5 pieces of playground equipment
• 5 drinking fountains
• 3 restrooms
• 1.06 miles of asphalt path
• 0.7 miles of gravel/dirt path
• 147 parking spaces, plus 18 disabled parking stalls

Hours

7 am to dusk

Parking fees

Clark County Parks charges parking fees year-round at Vancouver Lake Regional Park. Daily parking fees are:

• $2 for motorcycles
• $3 for cars
• $6 for cars with trailers
• $8 for buses or motor homes

These are parking fees, not entrance fees. There is no charge for people who walk or bicycle into Vancouver Lake Regional Park.

During the busy season, parking fees are collected from a fee booth and a parking meter. When the fee booths are not staffed, park users need to use the parking meter.

Both fee booths and self-pay stations accept cash, coin, debit cards, Visa and Mastercard. They do not accept checks, Discover or American Express cards.

Frequent park users can save money by purchasing annual parking passes, which are valid at the four regional parks charging parking fees: Frenchman’s Bar Regional Park, Lewisville Regional Park, Salmon Creek Regional Park/Klineline Pond and Vancouver Lake Regional Park.

For 2020, annual parking passes cost $30. Go to the parking fees webpage for information on how to purchase annual parking passes or click here to purchase a parking pass online.

Under Clark County Code, parking a vehicle without paying the required daily fee or displaying a valid parking pass could result in a $40 fine.

Clark County Code, 9.05.260 Parking

Trail

A 2.5-mile, 12-foot wide paved trail connects Vancouver Lake Regional Park with Frenchman's Bar Regional Park.

Picnic shelters

Vancouver Lake Regional Park has two picnic shelters that can seat 216 and 144 people and can be reserved for $150 a day. Each shelter can be divided in half, with a half shelter renting for $75 a day. 

Picnic shelters at Vancouver Lake Regional Park can be reserved from Memorial Day weekend through October 31. The start date for shelter reservations is later than at other regional and community parks because the ground at Vancouver Lake Regional Park tends to remain rather soggy until the end of May.

• Vancouver Lake shelters information (PDF) 

There are a number of uncovered picnic areas that are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Other portions of the park may be available for weddings and other events on a case-by-case basis with an approved special use permit. Air-inflated “bounce houses” are allowed with approved special use permits, but dunk tanks are not.

Shelter reservations and special use permits

Swimming

Swimming is allowed at Vancouver Lake Regional Park, but there are no lifeguards on duty. Park users swim at their own risk. Parents are urged to be vigilant watching children near the water.

• Swimming at Clark County Parks
• Water quality at public beaches, Clark County Public Health

Algae blooms

Vancouver Lake periodically has been closed because of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms. Blue-green algae produces toxins that can be harmful to people and deadly for small pets that drink the water, During blue-green algae blooms, the  the lake can be closed to swimming, wading, windsurfing and other uses.

Video: Solving the algae problem (15 minutes)

Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership

The Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership was formed in 2004 by Clark County, Port of Vancouver, City of Vancouver and Fruit Valley Neighborhood Association. The goal of the partnership is to bring together agencies and citizens to explore issues affecting Vancouver Lake, a regional recreational and environmental resource. Partnership-supported discussions and studies are aimed at understanding Vancouver Lake’s complex eco-system and factors regarding blue-green algae blooms in the lake.

Vancouver Lake Management Plan

For information about the Vancouver Lake Management Plan, please visit clark.wa.gov/councilors/vancouver-lake-management-plan-project.

Related information

• Clark County park rules
• Report a maintenance concern
• Eurasian Watermilfoil Treatment at Vancouver Lake .