Washington is famous for its gorgeous and abundant waterways, from the Salish Sea to the Nisqually River, but many communities lack open public beaches and waterfronts where everyone can enjoy picnicking, swimming, paddling, boating, and angling. Water Access projects fund public shoreline access, boat launches, and fishing docks to create more opportunities for water recreation.
This month’s featured project is the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Access Dev Phase I located on the ancestral land of the Snoqualmie and Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people. The Department of Natural Resources, King County, and the City of North Bend used this WWRP grant to develop and improve two key put-in locations and construct one key take-out location for a popular half-day kayaking and rafting run on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River: putting in at Granite Flats and Mine Creek halfway up the Middle Fork Valley and taking out at Tanner Landing in North Bend. New trails have been constructed at Granite Flats/Champion Beach and Mine Creek to provide additional river access points and to expand opportunities for walking, swimming, fishing, and picnicking along the river. A new kayak/rafting facility was constructed at Tanner Landing Park with parking for cars and trailers and access to the river. A new park, Dahlgren Family Park, has also been constructed to provide access to Tanner Landing from North Bend Way as well as picnic facilities and natural play areas. The primary recreation opportunity provided by this project will be safe and sustainable use of non-motorized water access and day use facilities.
A ribbon cutting for the opening of the Dahlgren Family Park is scheduled for Friday, June 28 at 12 pm and the public is encouraged to attend!
