STEPTOE BUTTE, WA – Five people were cited over the weekend for allegedly trespassing at Steptoe Butte State Park, which remains closed for repaving.
A Whitman County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a report on Sunday afternoon of three vehicles drove into the closed park north of Colfax. The trespassers allegedly drove under the locked chain across the park entrance. The deputy cited five people, all in their 20s, with misdemeanor trespassing. Four of the alleged trespassers were from Reardan, and one was from Canada.
Steptoe Butte State Park has been closed by the state for most of this year. The primary reason for the closure is to allow crews to repave the road to the summit of the butte. The project was initially set to be done last month. A strike from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 in late summer delayed the repaving work. The Washington State Parks Department hopes to reopen the butte on December 29th, weather permitting.
