KAYAK POINT — Plans are being made for changes at Snohomish County’s most popular park, and people are invited to weigh in this week.
Park planners are looking at roughly 350 undeveloped acres at Kayak Point Park near Stanwood for several possible projects that would update and expand the park. Ideas include additional camping areas, a community center, new trails and places for environmental education.
A public meeting is planned from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lake Goodwin Community Club, 17323 42nd Ave. NW near Stanwood. People are invited to hear more about the future of Kayak Point and share their thoughts.
In 1967, the area that includes what is now Kayak Point Park was set to become home to an oil refinery. The county bought the land from Richfield Oil Corporation in 1972 with the help of the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation.
The park now offers a day-use area with open lawns, a playground, a boat launch and pier, and more than 3,000 feet of shoreline. There are picnic shelters, a campground, yurts and a vacation cabin for rent. Some short, shaded trails offer variety from beach combing. Several areas are designated for water trail camping, meaning people who arrive in human- or wind-powered boats can stay overnight.
Kayak Point Park was developed in the 1970s and is due for a renovation to update aging infrastructure and expand for the park’s increasing use, according to the county. Planning started several years ago for the day-use area and beach. Ideas for the undeveloped acreage now are being gathered.
In the day-use area, the plan is to expand the boat launch, improve parking, remove some parts of the roadway, put in a paved trail and add mooring buoys. That work could start as soon as 2019. Crews also intend to replace failing water lines and repair buckling asphalt. Parking is expected to be moved away from the shoreline.
A renovation of the busy campground is set to be done this summer. The goal is to add water connections for all campsites, upgrade power hook-ups and put in two new sites.
The park spans about 480 acres, not including the golf course. There have been several proposals in the past to make use of the 350 undeveloped acres, but an up-to-date plan for that area hasn’t been adopted. The goal of the current outreach effort is to create a formal plan that would direct future projects at the park.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
