Your Vote in Action: King County Parks Levy
We look in at the midway point of the King County Parks Levy to check on the trails built and the work accomplished by its funding.
In 2019, more than 70% of King County voters cast their ballots in support of a measure that benefited parks, trails and open space in King County by funding projects from 2020 through 2025. That King County Parks Levy, now roughly at its mid-point, has had a substantial impact on trailwork and parks projects in the Northwest, and will generate a total of $845 million dollars over its lifetime to support parks projects. It can be hard to trace a direct route from your ballot to the results of your vote, but in this case, the benefits are easy to see.
A brand new trail being prepared in the Green River Natural Area, one place that the levy's funding has aided immensely. Photo by WTA staff.
The Levy in Action
The King County Parks Levy does an incredible amount of work in supporting local parks, open spaces and the communities who use them. In fact, there are so many projects and of so many different kinds, it can be hard to highlight all the great work taking place.
The levy itself funds targeted grant programs to benefit communities, makes accessibility and safety improvements possible, and supports conservation efforts. Of course, there’s the trailwork itself, where WTA can leverage its expertise and incredible volunteer power.
Levy funding has made trailwork projects a reality for King County and WTA, opening up opportunities to work together on unfinished parks and greenspaces across the county. From the tools used to construction materials, every project WTA takes on requires funding in some way, and the Parks Levy has made previously unfinished and brand new projects possible in very real, impactful ways for King County residents. That same funding enables our amazing trailwork volunteers to do even more, and empowers our Trail Next Door campaign.
Volunteers work on steps leading up the Licorice Fern Trail on Cougar Mountain. This trail and others at Cougar Mountain have benefited tremendously from the levy's funding. Photo by WTA staff.
Where the Levy Works For You
There are many trailwork projects that the parks levy has provided funding for. Here are just a handful of examples of what can be possible when voters turn out in support of parks and open spaces and WTA can get to work. The best part? These trails are close to home for King County residents and can be accessed yearround, rain or shine, making them a great destination for hikers of all kinds. Here are a few of the parks and trails that WTA has worked on, thanks to the funding the Parks Levy provided:
- Cougar Mountain (Wilderness Peak and Licorice Fern Trail)
- 78 work parties have taken place here since the start of levy funding. The work which is much needed due to the popularity of the trails at Cougar Mountain!
- A portion of that work entailed completion of a major reroute of the Wilderness Peak Trail.
- Green River Natural Area (O’Grady Trail)
- Nearly 100 work parties took place here since 2020.
- A large number of rock walls were built in order to shore up the O’Grady Trail, and rock wall trainings took place here for volunteers.
- Tolt MacDonald Park
- WTA has a 20+ year history of working in Tolt MacDonald and we’re looking forward to another 20 alongside King County Parks! Levy funding has made it possible for us to continue that work in recent years.
- A newly rerouted trail was built (referred to as the Crosscut Loop) which included lots of finish work and berm removal.
- Moss Lake
- WTA will be working at Moss Lake this fall, winter and spring thanks to levy funding. We’re excited to dive in!
- Pinnacle Peak
- Worked on building a more sustainable route up Pinnacle Peak after King County Parks identified sustainability issues for the future.
- Five work party days took place in 2021.
- Island Center Forest
- WTA began working here in 2021 and our volunteers have completed a total of 71 work parties to date (16 days in 2021, 25 days in 2022, 30 in 2023).
- Work consisted of reroutes to make the trail system more sustainable, as well as bridge work.
Why Your Vote Counts
How incredible is it that we can draw a direct line from King County ballots directly to trails that have been improved, and you can now hike on? This is a great example of how your vote can have immense impacts for your local community and how you recreate outdoors, and we’re only halfway through the levy! Over 200 King County residents pledged to WTA to support the levy in 2019 — and we hope we can encourage even more voters the next time the levy is on the ballot. We’re excited to work on further projects in conjunction with King County Parks and see what else we can achieve together by 2025 (and beyond).
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