Wrap Up the Year with a Gift to FLSSP Thinking about a year-end charitable donation? Consider a gift to FLSSP to continue the work of bringing new amenities and beautification to the park. Click on the link below. Thank you!

lakesammamishfriends.org/donate/

Please consider giving a gift of membership to Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park AND a year-long Discover Pass which provides entry into any Washington State Park for 12 months! Follow the links below! Thank you! http://lakesammamishfriends.org/join-us/

http://discoverpass.wa.gov/

Fit4Mom Classes Continue!“Stroller Strides® is a stroller-based fitness program designed for moms with little ones. Each 60-minute, total body workout incorporates power walking, strength, toning, songs and activities. Certified fitness instructors offer a variety of fun class formats both indoors and outdoors. We also offer a free playgroup with Our Village so moms can form lasting friendships with other moms through organized playdates, moms' nights out, and activities for the whole family.”

Classes began the week of Oct. 17 and are held Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:45 a.m. at the ‘flex’ space in the bathhouse at Sunset Beach adjacent to the new playground!

The playground is open! About 200 people came out in the rain on Oct. 15 to help recognize the donors, meet the WARM Radio bear and Woody from Toy Story, eat cookies and cut the ribbon. But mostly they came to swing and slide and jump and climb and explore the playground!

The playground will open for play after the ribbon cutting at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 — rain or shine or wind! The first 50 kids (ages 4-10) to arrive will cut the ribbon, the donation boulder will be unveiled, Woody from Toy Story and Sponge Bob will be there, refreshments will be served and the 8-foot blue heron will be spraying its fountain of water.But the playground is what it’s all about, watching kids of all abilities — including those in wheelchairs — explore the swings, slides, rotating net, zip line, mushroom house, coal mine, musical instruments, chess board and other adventures that await their discovery. Arrive in plenty of time to get through the entrance gate as a good-sized crowd is expected. Park admission is $10/carload or use your $30 annual Discover Pass.

Ten days and counting until the playground is open for play! The donation boulder has been installed, the bouncy rubber surfacing is complete (and beautiful!), the irrigation system is in, and the top soil arrives Monday as the perimeter gets ready for the grand opening. The only thing left to do will be the landscape plantings, but that won’t keep us from cutting the ribbon.

Invitations to the grand opening have been sent to all the donors who contributed to the playground, to local dignitaries, to our local non-profit partners, to the contractors who built the park and to members of Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park.

Now we just need children to help cut the ribbon and come to play! The short program begins at 11 a.m. on October 15 and includes the unveiling of the boulder with its beautiful bronze plaque recognizing all the donors who contributed $1,000 or more. Join us as we celebrate their gifts!

If you like to garden, join our beautification team! With the arrival of the new playground, we will need help in maintaining lovely landscaping for the kids and families to enjoy. Other areas of the park could also use your green thumb and gardening eye. If this is something you would 'dig' - reach out to director@flssp.org

Thanks!

Docent Training Begins in March 2017 Would you like to help the rangers with their environmental education programs? There are many opportunities to work with students at the park during the school year and also to have fun in nature with kids and families in the summer.

Ranger Rick Oakley provides docent training. If you are interested, come see what it is all about.

Contact director@flssp.org for more information.

The playground is nearly finished! Yes, the zip line is in! This week the poured-in-place rubber surfacing is being installed. First comes an all-black base coat, then the colored top coat goes in. It should be done by early next week.

Watch for the arrival of the 8-foot blue heron, making its home in the entry plaza. Last will be top soil and the irrigation system. Planting the landscape is not likely to be in time for the grand opening at 11 a.m. Oct. 15, but that won’t stop the children from playing! Come celebrate this historic event and help us honor our many donors who have made the playground dream come true.

The first 50 children ages 4-10 who arrive will receive souvenir scissors and be invited to help cut the ribbon, so arrive early!

Lynn Rehn is drawn to her new post with the Friends of Lake Sammamish Board of Trustees because she considers the park a jewel among many in Issaquah’s treasure chest. She loves the outdoors and its critters! She has enjoyed being a parks commissioner for the city of Sammamish and has worked with other local community groups. She is looking forward to opening doors to inter-agency connectivity including increasing the ease of improvements, maintenance and operations.

Many thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Mike Inman and his team for constructing 8 beautiful new all-access picnic tables for the new playground area to open October 15. Mike’s onsite partner was Ranger Tor Bjorklund. Over two days on the weekend, Mike marshaled about 30 volunteers to help in the project that provides an additional amenity to the Sunset Beach area. Thank you!

Hello! My name is Matt Webster, and I am an AmeriCorps member serving with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Lake Sammamish State Park, in Issaquah, Washington. I hail from North Alabama, and am beyond excited to be working here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest (for the first time, I might add).I hope to meet you at the park and encourage you to volunteer to work with me to restore natural habitat to increase wildlife.

Please reach out at matt.webster@parks.wa.gov or director@flssp.org

Say Hello at Salmon Days! FLSSP will have a booth at Salmon Days on the grounds of the fish hatchery at 125 W. Sunset Way, Issaquah. We can answer your questions about membership, plans for the park, volunteer opportunities and more. Stop by and say hello!