State Park is Part of Nation’s Newest National Heritage Area

After eight years of tireless advocacy, the Mountains to Sound Greenway has become the nation’s newest National Heritage Area! Lake Sammamish State Park is proud to be part of this area.

The Mountains to Sound Greenway encompasses a dynamic 1.5-million-acre landscape that stretches from Ellensburg to Seattle. It connects urban centers, vast forests, meadow-strewn mountain peaks, small farms and rural communities. Abundant trails, parks and public lands make the Greenway a place everyone can experience.

The Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area joins 54 other NHA sites in 32 states, including iconic and historic landscapes such as New York’s Niagara Falls, Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, and North Carolina’s Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. National Heritage Areas are places designated by Congress where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes.

A National Heritage Area designation provides a non-regulatory approach to conservation and does not affect private property, water, hunting, fishing or Tribal treaty rights.

Specifically, it will help:

• Amplify the Greenway’s rich history and natural heritage on a national stage

• Increase visibility for the Greenway’s communities through an enhanced sense of place and importance

• Encourage ecological restoration across multiple jurisdictions and watersheds

• Grow funding opportunities through private and public partnerships

• Promote regional tourism and attract new economic opportunities

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  Greenway designation was achieved with strong, bipartisan support in Congress and endorsed by over 6,500 businesses, governments, non-profits and individuals, including Governor Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Microsoft, Expedia, REI, the Trust for Public Land, and the Mountaineers.