Popular park gets money for more camp sites
Published 12:20 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Anne Radford
The Courier-Herald
Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, the popular attraction just a short drive from Enumclaw, has been earmarked for expansion.
Design work is under way for the construction of a new campground loop with a tentative completion date of July 2007, said Troy Fitzsimmons, Washington State Parks development manager for the Puget Sound region. "Fifty new camping units are anticipated," he said.
Jim Smith, a senior park aide, applauds the decision to expand. "We generally stay booked throughout the summer," he said. "This is a popular destination park."
Washington State Parks is evaluating what areas need new camping opportunities, based on information that includes interest at individual sites, use of state camping facilities and trends in camping, Fitzsimmons said. "In the greater Seattle area, camping opportunities are in pretty good demand right now," he said. And Kanaskat-Palmer, sitting along the Green River, offers a variety of recreation opportunities for both campers and day-use visitors.
Fitzsimmons is working with the operations staff to determine the current and future need at the Kanaskat-Palmer. It is not known how the existing camping units will be affected by the development, he said. "As with any construction, we can't speculate right now until we are further into the design process about what areas will be affected," he explained.
A primary hurdle for the state agency is to finalize funding options for the $2.1 million project.
A grant covering $1.4 million of the project was included in the 2005-07 Washington state capital budget signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire on May 16. The grant goes to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program under the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) section of the budget. The IAC manages the competitive grant process that ranks projects, evaluates applications for grants and then submits a prioritized list of projects to the state Legislature for approval, said Susan Zemek, communications manager for IAC.
The remaining $700,000 needed for the project is in the process of being confirmed and will come from the state capital budget, Fitzsimmons said.
Kanaskat-Palmer State Park covers 320 acres and is 11 miles northeast of Enumclaw. The park has 31 tent spaces, 19 spaces equipped with utilities, a dump station, two restrooms and six showers. The park also has a group campsite that can accommodate up to 80 people.
The family-friendly park includes three miles of hiking trails, plus opportunities for fishing, swimming, whitewater kayaking, bird watching, mountain biking, wildlife viewing and whitewater rafting. The park includes four fire circles and two horseshoe pits.
