Bridle Trails State Park History

Bridle Trails State Park preserves an urban forest in the heart of one of Washington’s most densely populated areas for park visitors to enjoy equestrian sports, trail riding and hiking. The local community has been deeply engaged with the park since its inception. 

Indigenous Lands 

Bridle Trails State Park lies within the traditional territories of Coast Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. For thousands of years the lands around today’s Bridle Trails State Park have provided habitat for a diverse community of life that forms the basis of their cultures.  

Local tribes ceded ownership of the area to the US federal government under duress in the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855, keeping rights to harvest natural resources in their usual and accustomed places. 

Land Distribution  

Government surveys of the area were completed in 1871, and one full square mile (640 acres) of land including today’s Bridle Trails State Park was granted to the State of Washington to be held in trust for the support of public schools at statehood in 1889, a part of millions of acres of land granted to the state for this purpose.  

Beginning in 1898, the Commissioner of Public Lands sold timber on the land to local loggers to provide income for trust beneficiaries. In 1904 and 1908, two 80 acre parcels of the land were sold to private buyers, with the proceeds of the sales returned to public school beneficiaries. 

Creating a State Park 

As the area surrounding the remaining state land became more densely populated, community groups petitioned the Commissioner of Public Lands to reserve the forest for public recreation, especially horse riding. 280 acres were reserved on September 6, 1932.  

On November 21, 1933, the State Parks Committee requested the Commissioner of Public Lands to reserve an additional 200 acres for park purposes and hired federal relief workers funded by the Great Depression era Civil Works Administration to clear brush, burn logging debris, build trails and fences on the property. 

On March 6, 1962, the terms of the agreement between the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Commissioner of Public Lands for management of Bridle Trails State Park were updated to include the payment of an annual rental fee of $14,400, providing income from the property for the trust beneficiaries.   

In 1971 the Washington State Legislature decided that continued lease of trust lands for park purposes was not in the best interest of the state and directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (WSPRC) to negotiate a sale of the leased lands. The two agencies entered into a contract for the purchase of 15,083 acres in 24 parks, including 480 acres in Bridle Trails State Park, at a total purchase price of $11.4 million. However, the timber on the lands was excluded from the contract, as there was no source of funding.  

The timber in Bridle Trails State Park alone was appraised to be nearly 10 million board feet valued at $3.1 million. In 1980, the legislature authorized the sale of bonds to cover the cost of the timber. On September 28, 1981, it was deeded to the WSPRC, securing its complete protection.  The contract for the purchase of the land was fulfilled in 1992, giving the WSPRC complete ownership of the property.