Along the west coast of North America, climbing salamanders (genus Aneides) are found in California, Oregon, and British Columbia but supposedly not in Washington State. However, two publications from ca. 70-125 years ago each claimed to report the first occurrence of a climbing salamander from Washington, and at least five other publications have cited these records or otherwise indicated the presence of climbing salamanders in the state. I investigated their authenticity by examining the museum specimens they cited, determining how the identifications were made, and conducting field searches at the only reported locality. I found that these published records of climbing salamanders from Washington were erroneous and were the result of misidentifications of museum specimens. Although it is difficult to prove the absence of climbing salamanders from Washington, the current consensus that climbing salamanders do not occur in Washington is evidently correct despite seven historical reports to the contrary.