Update on Park Improvements

The State of Washington has passed the capital budget which means that slated improvements to Lake Sammamish State Park  can now begin. The budget includes funding for the next phase of improvements to Sunset Beach and will allow the park to redevelop the picnic area by adding three new picnic shelters with an architectural style similar to the new bathhouse. It will add new pathways through the picnic area, including a portion of the paved esplanade that will one day connect Sunset Beach to Tibbetts Beach. The project will also rehabilitate the lawn, adding drainage and irrigation systems which will make the lawn useable year round.

Finally, the project will replace some of the trees in the picnic area, many of which are nearing the end of their lives. In addition to these improvements, the project will include wetland restoration elements as mitigation for impacts to the wetlands in the picnic area.

The work is funded from two sources in the state capital budget; 50% is coming from a Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program State Parks category grant and 50% is coming from the State Parks capital appropriation.  We anticipate the projects will be complete by the summer of 2020 barring any unanticipated permitting complications.