Welcome to New Area Manager John Ernster

We are thrilled to welcome John Ernster as the new Area Manager of the Cascade Foothills Area. John has been working for State Parks for almost his entire life. He credits his wife Amanda for his long involvement and successful career. When she was only 18 and they were just dating,  she was working as a park aide at Battle Ground Lake State Park and she convinced him to apply for a job. It was a great fit and he was immediately promoted to Park Ranger. John gets immense satisfaction from his work. He believes that public access to our wild places is essential to conservation and he enjoys working to make sure our natural areas are inviting and accessible to all. Lake Sammamish State Park is the perfect place for John  for he enjoys working with all of the diverse user groups  at the park.

In addition to working, John enjoys all types of outdoor activities-rock climbing, backcountry camping and hiking with his wife Amanda and their two children, Ethan and Elizabeth.

He is very excited to be working here at Lake Sammamish State Park as there is so much community investment and excitement around the park at this point in time.