Tag: King County Parks
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MLK Day Events and Volunteer Opportunities
The mental health benefits of volunteering and coming together in community are known to prevent feelings of isolation, build connection, and ignite passion for common causes. On this upcoming Martin Luther King Day, consider devoting a few hours to your community through service or coming together with others with shared interests. Several local volunteer and…
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Three King County Lowland Winter Walks
As the winter holidays approach and people reunite to gather together, check out King County Parks for some approachable lowland walks in our many woodland and natural areas. With picturesque views, and everything from gently graded, paved footpaths to unpaved, wooded trails, these lowland excursions make for a great nature break during the frenzy of holiday…
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Soil restoration at Preston Mill Park
World Soil Day takes place on December 5 each year and serves as an opportunity to focus attention on the critical importance of healthy soil and sustainable management of soil resources. Soil is a critical piece of our natural systems and contributes to producing sufficient, safe, and more nourishing food for healthier plants, animals, and people.…
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Three King County Trails With Amazing Views
With wildfire and smoke season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to get out on the trails for some clean air and fresh perspective. Here are some of our favorite vantage points from a few of King County’s parks and trails. Pinnacle Peak Pinnacle Peak is a 335-acre volcanic cone located one mile southeast of…
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Lake to Sound Trail construction updates
Since ground was last broken on the SeaTac segment of the Lake to Sound Trail in April, construction has neared more than 40% of completion. As a multi-municipality and agency collaboration between King County Parks, WSDOT, the Port of Seattle, and the five cities of Des Moines, SeaTac, Burien, Tukwila, and Renton, the Lake to…
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Join King County Parks at the Burke Museum’s International Archaeology Day
King County employs archaeologists, historians, and preservation planners to ensure that work on County land doesn’t violate federal, state, or local laws and regulations related to archaeology, the historical built environment, and traditional cultural places. Archaeologist Brandy Rinck, who works in the Cultural Resources Program at Parks, reviews projects and helps carry out any needed…
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Major updates to Skyway Park, with more changes to come
King County Parks celebrated the end of construction on major updates to Skyway Park with a community re-opening on October 9. Executive Dow Constantine, Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, and Director Warren Jimenez came out for the gathering, along with Andrew Bloom from the Seattle Kraken, Honorable Richard A. Jones and Mari Horita from One Roof Foundation,…
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King County Parks acquires more than 100 acres on Vashon
March 9, 2023 Update: Please join King County Parks at a virtual open house on March 22 at 6 p.m. to hear about this property. Register now. We are elated to announce a 110-acre Vashon property, rich with community events and ecological habitat, has been purchased by King County Parks for stewardship as protected public…
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Celebrating the launch of King County Parks’ Mobile Engagement Team and its first cohort of interns
This past summer, King County Parks launched its Mobile Engagement Team (MET) with a small group of college interns from the University of Washington (UW). Under the supervision of DNRP staff member David Lee, UW students Jaykub Rafael, Nathan Frarck, and Michelle Pollowitz engaged with communities at several parks in unincorporated areas of King County.…
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Checking in on the Jobs and Housing Program
King County launched the Jobs and Housing Program using federal COIVD-19 recovery dollars in 2021 to connect people experiencing homelessness to jobs, case managers, and housing support. Participants spend about a year as a King County employee, developing the experience and skills to then secure permanent employment. Parks was the first division to implement this program…
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Shape the future of your local and regional parks!
Help direct $100 million in funding Join our King County Parks Levy Grants Advisory Committees Community members may be eligible for a stipend for serving on a Parks Advisory Committee. Want to be a committee member? Submit an Interest Form by September 1, 2022.
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Two Taylor Mountain trail bridges checked off the ‘To Do’ list
Last week, King County Parks wrapped up construction on the project to install two new trail bridges at Taylor Mountain Forest. Part of our effort to improve trail sustainability and protect the forest and salmon habitat, this work replaced old, undersized culverts along gravel maintenance roads that make up part of the park’s trail system.…
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Explore the Leafline Trails Network in King County
The Leafline has over 300 miles of flat, wide, mostly paved trails in King County alone! Learn more about this amazing four-county trail network.
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How are we doing?
King County Parks is updating our King County Open Space Plan: Parks, Trails, and Natural Areas, which provides the policy framework for King County’s acquisition, development, stewardship, management, and funding of our 32,000-acre open space system. It’s a functional plan of the King County Comprehensive Plan and must be updated every six years. As part…
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Construction update: Taylor Mountain Trails
Pardon our dust, we’re building 2 new bridges! If you’ve been to Taylor recently, you might’ve noticed some things happening in the parking lot and along Road A and some other trails. That’s because construction is underway to install two new bridges that will replace old, undersized culverts on the gravel road system. Once this…
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Summer Trail Construction Season is Here!
Warm weather means dry days and dry days are great for trail repair! Here’s a list of the summer’s trail work happening around the county.
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King County Parks in 2020: It’s been… a year.
Way back in December 2019, we at King County Parks were already anticipating a busy and productive year. And then… Winter flooding and storms, followed by COVID-19 closures and cancellations; shifts to virtual programming and remote work for many employees; and finally, remarkably high visitation and use – these all combined to make 2020 one…
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King County Parks: Coronavirus Update
This post is no longer updated. Please visit our new COVID page for the latest information on the status of King County Parks. We will use the Plog, Facebook and Twitter, and e-newsletters to keep you up-to-date about any changes in Parks’ operations. UPDATE 04/28/2020, 1 p.m. In light of Governor Jay Inslee’s announcement of…
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Go sports ball!
We are excited to announce the awardees of our latest round of youth sports grants!! Read the news release here. What are the youth sports grants, you ask? In an effort to remove barriers and disrupt the cost-prohibitive pay-to-play model, our grants are aimed at providing resources to government agencies and non-profit organizations to support…
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Marymoor South play area is OPEN!
I know it’s hard to believe, but Marymoor Park just got a little bit awesomer. We’re delighted to announce that the southern play area at Marymoor Park (located right outside of the concert venue) is now open! There’s equipment for littles and bigs alike and is a climbing kiddo’s dream: lots of things to go…
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Spring into Earth Month with a good cleaning
It’s getting sunny and I’m getting antsy to put some miles under my bike tires. This winter hasn’t been the most productive or pleasant for bike commuting, and I’m a little embarrassed to report I had a personal low and logged the fewest miles ever. But spring is here! Earth Day is April 22, and…
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Happy Birthday America!
And to the rest of you, be safe this Fourth of July holiday!
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Compost. Recycle. Get your groove on (for free). Rinse. Repeat.
In just a few short days, the summer concert series kicks off at Marymoor Park, which means it’s time to refresh your playlist and plan some summer fun. Not enough dough to see every show? Then considering volunteering on the Marymoor Composting and Recycling Crew! Marymoor Composting and Recycling Crew volunteers help educate concert-goers about…
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Where does one go to get yelled at by frogs? Why, Frog Holler Forest, of course!
Frog Holler Forest is our newest park, a 60-acre forest on the southern part of Vashon Island. Frog Holler is actually the name of the neighborhood where the park is located, named as such for the chorus of tree frogs in the area. Acquired in December 2016 with the help of the Vashon Maury Island…
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GiveBIG to the KC Parks Foundation!
GiveBIG is May 10th and you can support the King County Parks Foundation by donating here! And you don’t even need to wait until the BIG day – schedule your donation today, so you can be outside on May 10th instead – enjoying our 200 parks, 175 miles of trails and 28,000 acres of open…
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Join the conversation and give your input on these Green to Cedar Rivers Trail designs!
Help us take the next step in connecting communities in south King County and add your input to the online conversation happening at http://bit.ly/G2Ctraildesigns. We’d like you to answer a few short questions about the initial design options for the 3-mile-long north segment of the Green to Cedar Rivers Trail, which goes from the Cedar…
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2017 Green Globe awards: Honoring Our Partners
This morning, King County hosted the Green Globes, an awards ceremony honoring local businesses, cities, community groups and individuals for the work they’re doing to protect and improve our environment. We were delighted that several Parks partners were recognized for their dedication to our parks and open space. Recognized as Leader in Community Stewardship, the…
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Trail Spotlight: Sammamish River Trail
The Sammamish River Trail runs 10.9 miles along the Sammamish River from Bothell to Marymoor Park in Redmond as part of the “Locks to Lakes Corridor.”
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Citizen Oversight Board gives Parks ‘two thumbs up’ on Levy expenditures
In 2013, when King County voters overwhelmingly approved the 2014-2019 King County Parks, Trails, and Open Space Replacement Levy, they also established a Levy Citizen Oversight Board to monitor how we would be expending levy proceeds. The board, which was appointed by the King County Executive and consists of one representative from each council district,…