Washington’s largest state park is located in Spokane’s Garden and is likely to undergo significant adjustments in the coming decades.
As for what those changes might be, Washington State Parks is seeking input from the network on the master plan that will encompass the next 20 years of trail construction, land-use decisions, conservation efforts and facility innovations at Mount Spokane State Park.
The company will host its first public forum on June 1, from 9 a. m. to 19 p. m. 11:30 a. m. , at the Wonder Building, to learn more about the planning process and gather feedback from the network’s many members and organizations interested in more than 12,000 residents. . one-acre recreational place.
“Basically, we’re creating sort of a two-way road for the network,” said Paul Knowles, State Parks Coordinator for Eastside Trails. “To give other people a sense of what’s going on there, what other people are running, who’s running on what: Mount Spokane’s kind of network ecosystem. “
The pressure for a plan is multifaceted, Knowles said.
On the one hand, the park has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past decade, from 234,420 annual visitors in 2014 to a peak of 503,062 in 2022. The park welcomed more than 467,000 visitors last year.
Knowles said the COVID-19 pandemic, while recreation has experienced a national benefit, has been a major contributor to the increase in annual visitors to the park. Almost every single area of use has experienced growth, with mountain biking and winter sports leading the way. Mount Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park is one of only three downhill skiing and skiing spaces in the country located in a state park.
“As far as we know, every facet of the mountain is developing,” Knowles said.
Many efforts have been made in recent decades to expand plans to consult the park’s future, adding a 2009 service plan and a 2014 plan, Knowles said.
By crafting a master plan, State Parks will consolidate all of its past efforts into a cohesive vision for the park, while also comparing unfinished projects that will be resurrected or abandoned.
Most recently, the company purchased the 110-acre assets where Bear Creek Lodge is located for $3. 1 million and will need to strategize on how to use the facility more productively for guests to enjoy and fulfill the desires of park staff and volunteers.
The former restaurant, clubhouse and tubing facility built in 1952 was privately owned until last year. Knowles said building a plan for the long-term use of the site will be one of the big questions State Parks hopes to answer with the master plan.
“It looked like it was the gateway to the park, but it was personal property,” Knowles said. “So now that it’s owned by State Parks, how can we make adjustments or improve these assets in a way that really treats them like a gateway to the park, like you’ve arrived?
Knowles said many of the goals set out in the trail plan a decade ago have been met, so taking an objective look at what could be the next step for the 100-mile trail formula is a topic of interest.
“Is it about maintaining and improving the existing trail network?Or do we focus on making connections that don’t currently exist?” said Knowles. In fact, we want to answer those questions. “
A number of local partners, such as organizations that recreate on site or contribute to the maintenance of the park, will be featured at the June meeting. State Parks is reaching out to stakeholders, adding mountain biker associations, trail developers, and winter sports. groups, to help them tell their plans for next year, Knowles said.
The Spokane Nordic Ski Association will be one of the network partners contributing to the advancement of the plan. Robin Redman, a longtime guest of the park and coordinator of the organization’s adaptive ski program, said the beauty and recreational opportunities present, and the network that keeps the trails and amenities well-maintained are what keeps her and many others who return each year.
“All we do is 40 minutes and we get all the Rocky Mountain-like flora and fauna,” Redman said. “There’s a glorious network feel there, too. “
Redman said he’s working with Knowles to make sure there are more features available on the horizon for Mount Spokane, so visitors of all skill levels can enjoy the park. He’d also like to see improved traffic between the city and the park to decrease the traffic that can pick up the winter and put less pressure on parking lots, which are starting to get crowded.
Establishing a long-term vision for a recreational domain as giant and multifaceted as Mount Spokane, along with a litany of interested members and network organizations, is a challenge in itself, Knowles said. State parks will want to balance public wishes with the viability of allocation. while respecting the boundary between overdevelopment and conservation.
“You have this duality: Well, you acquire assets to maintain the details of natural resources, but there are also other people who need to use it,” Knowles said. “So how can we facilitate that preference while also protecting what other people do?”I love it, it’s this detail of the herbal resource: the forest, the views, the streams too. I think it will be a big task for this project.