The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

A dozen boat-in campsites at Steamboat Rock State Park in the Ponderosa Campground are now closed to camping as the area becomes designated for day-use only. 

Washington State Parks announced the closure, which began June 1, in a May 26 press release.

The day-use only area has "900 feet of shoreline available for picnicking and exploring," the release says. 

The press release also shows a satellite map of the now day-use area, located northeast of the boat launch and bordering an area that technically closed in January of this year to protect the "sensitive" area, as the map says. 

That area was closed for resource protection needed due to shoreline erosion and will have a fence built around it, as well as a buoy line to keep boats from accessing the shore of that area. 

The release goes on to talk about new campsites being constructed at the park. 

"Construction of the new Cove Loop campground, located between the Sage Loop and Dune Loop campgrounds, is scheduled for completion later this summer," the release says. "This new campground will offer 29 new reservable campsites with full hookups."