From the Gorge to the border, popular trails are getting love this spring
It's barely the end of winter and WTA trail crews have accomplished great things already. Thanks to increased staff capacity, we're building new trails in several parts of the state, and our work last year has earned kudos from land managers and neighbors alike.
It's barely the end of winter and WTA trail crews have accomplished great things already. Thanks to increased staff capacity, we're building new trails in several parts of the state, and our work last year has earned kudos from land managers and neighbors alike.
A volunteer working on the new Island Center Forest trails, which residents are raving about! Photo by Bob Zimmerman.
Investments in the Gorge
Down in the Columbia River Gorge, hikers can expect improvements to several popular trails this year. Thanks to a National Forest Foundation grant, WTA will be working in a variety of locations, including making accessibility improvements at St. Cloud, an interpretive area with a wheelchair-friendly trail near the river.
We also just finished up some work at Cape Horn, where dozens of volunteers brushed and cleared the Cape Horn trail to avoid a muddy, steep and unsustainable portion of the existing trail.
Creating a reroute on the Cape Horn Trail. Photo by James Alexander.
A huge thanks to everyone who contributed to the 565-foot reroute at Cape Horn!
We're also working in partnership with the City of Vancouver to create a new accessible trail at Behrens Woods. Last year, WTA volunteers removed huge rocks, built new trail, and widened existing trail to create the new path. Phase 2 is to gravel the new paths to finalize a wide and clear path for everyone to enjoy.
New and improved local trails statewide
In Olympia, hikers can expect an improvement at Trillium Park, where crews are finishing a major box stair replacement operation. This project is also a training opportunity for volunteers to learn a niche trail skill. In Puyallup, we're breaking ground at Wildwood Park to begin construction of a new quarter-mile section of trail. It may be a short section, but local parks like this provide nature nearby when weather is nasty, so it's important work.
A crew working at Behrens Woods. Believe it or not, the trail they're building will be navigable by wheelchairs when they're done. Photo by James Alexander.
Closer to Bellingham, volunteer crew leaders Richard Mellon and Meg Bushnell are finishing up the last bit of the Clayton Beach trail, which offers safe access across train tracks from Larabee State Park.
We're also working nearby on an alternate route for hikers to reach the upper reaches of Blanchard Mountain. That means that soon there will be another way to reach Oyster Dome!
Crews in Snohomish County worked at popular locations like Lime Kiln, Flowing Lake County Park, and Kayak Point. The county was so pleased with our work they awarded us another contract to return this year!
WTA staff also did a work party to improve trails at Flowing Lake County Park. Photo by Brandon Tigner.
And finally King County Parks' Melissa Perrozo passed on Vashon Island residents' rave reviews about reroutes WTA crews did in Island Center Forest (picture above):
"We've had a steady stream of islanders telling us how much they love the new trails. One person even felt so passionately about the trails they wrote a message in the dirt on the side of my truck thanking us for all the awesome trails....That was a fun thing to discover after a long wet, rainy, muddy day on trail. Another person loveds the new trails so much she sent not one but two emails expressing her appreciation. Nice work everyone, Y'all are trail rock stars!"
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