Kopachuck State Park New Day-Use Amenities
Project summary
Beginning June 3, 2024, Kopachuck State Park will close for major construction of roads and buildings, primarily in its upper day-use area. The project is expected to reach completion in mid-summer of 2025.
- Location: Kopachuck State Park
- Estimated start date: June 3, 2024
- Estimated end date: Summer 2025
For the safety of the public, staff and contractors, the park and its trails will be closed for the duration of the project. The use of heavy construction equipment and building materials, excavating around building sites and on roads, laying electrical and water lines and asphalt creates significant hazards for visitors.
We ask that park users and visitors have patience with this temporary inconvenience while we make Kopachuck a more robust and fulfilling experience for generations to come.
New amenities will include:
- A large, rentable community building facility in the upper day-use area
- A playground in the upper day-use area
- An outdoor amphitheater near the community building
- A new welcome center near the park entrance
- Improved roads and subterranean infrastructure, including power and water lines, in the park
- Improvements to the upper parking lot
- Greater connectivity between the upper and lower sections of the park
Project history
Kopachuck State Park was a camping park until 2011, when a pathogen called laminated root rot was discovered in many of the campground's mature Douglas fir trees. This created a potential hazard for tree fall in the campground; thus, the decision was made to close the campground for public safety.
In 2014, Parks took the first steps to reimagine Kopachuck as a robust day-use space that included a community meeting hall, a park office/welcome center, improved parking lots and restrooms, an ADA-accessible picnic area and a new playground. The design called for minimal tree removal. After a rigorous public process, the agency drew up a master plan, but Parks did not get funding to proceed in the subsequent (2015-17) biennium.
Parks received some funding in the 2017-19 biennium and began the process to permit the project. With permitting now complete, the project is underway.
The end result will be a park that has greater infrastructure and serves the community in new and exciting ways, all while keeping its neighborhood feel.