Five things
#1. Located on the Quimper Peninsula about 10 miles south of Port Townsend, Anderson Lake is named for Charles E. (Karl Erik) and Joanna (Johanna) Olson Anderson, Swedish emigrants who settled here in the mid-1800s. Their sizable homestead encompassed the lake and stretched into present-day Chimacum. The name goes back at least to 1882, when “Anderson’s Lake” appears in an issue of the Puget Sound Weekly Argus. The Andersons’ oldest child, Amanda Joanna, inherited the property after her parents’ deaths, and State Parks acquired it in the 1960s.
#2. Karl Erik Anderson cut down a number of big trees, the stumps are which are still visible. The forest has regenerated vigorously, with some impressively large trees growing around the lake.
#3. The lake is often closed due to toxic algae, which can make picnicking there feel a bit eerie. Keep dogs and kids away from the water.
#4. There are some monster glacial erratics, enormous boulders dropped by receding glacial ice more than 10,000 years ago, atop the ridge above the lake. It’s worth the hike.
#5. Tamanowas Rock is both a geological wonder and a sacred site that is directly adjacent to the park but owned and operated by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. A 43 million-year-old basalt monolith formed by volcanic activity before the Cascade and Olympic ranges existed, it is part of a prominent ridge of rock between Anderson Lake and the town of Chimacum. As the lava cooled, gas bubbles formed natural caves and shelters which for millennia have been a traditional cultural site for area tribes, especially the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, which manages this sacred site as Tamanowas Rock Sanctuary in cooperation with Washington State Parks and the Jefferson Land Trust. Coast Salish stories relate that the rock was used as a lookout during mastodon hunting. It offered refuge during tsunamis and other floods, when the people would attach their canoes to the rock with rope, ensuring they would stay anchored as the water rose. Tamanowas or T’əmēnəwəs means “spirit power” or “a place for spiritual quests” in S’Klallam. The rock was part of those quests. Seekers would spend three days fasting and cleansing at Anderson Lake, then climb to the rock and enter a cave. The rock is reachable from park trails; this guide from Quimper Geological Society is useful for finding your way. You can also drive the short distance to the Tamanowas Rock Sanctuary parking lot (read the posted rules, which differ from those of the state park) and hike to this very special place from there.
Fast Facts about Anderson Lake State Park
- 496-acre day-use park, open April-October
- 8,250’ freshwater shoreline
- picnic tables and restroom
- 8 miles hiking trails, 7 miles mountain biking trails, 5 miles equestrian trails, birding, wildlife viewing
- Anderson Lake is often closed to all water activities due to toxic algae. Always check the park website for alerts before you go.
- Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
- park brochure
- park map
Land Acknowledgment
Anderson Lake State Park occupies the traditional, ancestral, and unneeded lands of the S’Klallam and Chimacum peoples, whose descendants include the Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, and Skokomish peoples, and who have lived and travelled here since time immemorial.
