Cascade Park Wenas Wildlife Area — Sunday, May. 1, 2022

I had a little difficulty locating this area due to the USGS map I had being out-of-date, but once there, this one proved to be an interesting location and worth the visit, particularly at non-peak times. If traveling through the area and looking for a nice campsite with some hiking possibilities, this is worth considering.

Things to note:

• I tried visiting in early March, but the important info that is very difficult to locate online in advance is that the area is closed from December 15-May 1 each year to protect winter wildlife habitat! There's a large gate about a mile from Cascade Park that is locked during the closure period, and there is very little space for parking nearby (plus it's a multi-point turn-around in a Subaru at the site of the gate).
• This site shows up online under several names, including Cascade Camp, Cascade Park, Wenas Creek, Wenas Audubon Camp, or Wenas Camp. The USGS map is slightly off on the location (perhaps it has been moved?) but it is called Wenas Camp there.
• This area is part of the Green Dot Road system for motorized recreation. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon on the 1st day it was open this year, and my brother and I had the entire campground to ourselves, but I imagine this area gets very busy during peak season and weekends. As it was, we had a lot of late-afternoon vehicle traffic on the road past us as off-road vehicles exited. It was super quiet overnight and Monday morning, however.
• Amenities include dispersed camping over a huge area and multiple CXT toilets. The campsites are not well marked. We picked a site close to the main road that had an existing fire ring and was an easy walk to the outhouse. There is no additional fee for camping, although a Discover Pass is required.
•   There are not official trails here, but there are miles of old closed roads to explore. I did an easy hike up a dead-end spur road along Wenas Creek on Sunday night, and a longer hike on Monday morning that included a few old closed roads plus some off-trail travel to ascend a ridge near camp for some nice views (despite a torrential downpour that lasted the entire time!).
• There are signs of motorized use off the Green Dot routes, which is unfortunate. Expect some muddy areas if hiking the closed roads following rain. I walked a closed road with no problems on Sunday night, but on Monday (during the downpour) I found the walking was actually easier using game trails (although this requires some route-finding skills).
• In looking up some additional information about the hike, I discovered that the Wenas Audubon Society has an annual campout at this location, free & open to the public. It's a popular birding spot.