Type Municipal Status Open all year Area 153.03 acres (0.6193 km2) | Phone +1 360-753-8380 Created 1956 | |
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Address 2500 Henderson Blvd SE, Olympia, WA 98501, USA Hours Open today ยท Open 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSuggest an edit Similar Priest Point Park, LBA Park, Tumwater Falls Park, McLane Creek Nature Tr, Tumwater Historical Park | ||
Watershed park ride delta b c
Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water from privately established wells in the late 1800s. The city acquired and operated the wells starting in 1917 until the 1950s when the municipal water source was replaced. In 1955 the forest was to be logged and the land sold but strong local opposition resulted in an ordinance preserving the area as a city park. Throughout, remnants of the waterworks are visible from the park trails.
Contents
- Watershed park ride delta b c
- Mountain biking in watershed park delta bc
- History
- Features
- Environmental Concerns
- References
Mountain biking in watershed park delta bc
History
Water wells for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. Influential Western Washington businessman Henry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917. After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to a Washington Supreme Court battle that led to the area's preservation, with a city ordinance protecting the area presently.
Features
The Moxlie Creek Springs Basin, one of the largest spring basins in the region, is situated in the center of the park, which is completely forested by a temperate rain forest. Skunk cabbage and salmon berries grow alongside Moxlie Creek, which weaves throughout the area. The creek is fed by ground water and surface water runoff. Chinook, coho salmon and coastal cutthroat trout live in the creek. There are big leaf maple, douglas fir, red alder and incense cedar throughout the park, along with huckleberry, Oregon grape, licorice and sword ferns, and devil's club. The one and a half-mile long, G. Eldon Marshall trail encircles much of the park. Evidence of the former waterworks in the form of pipes is scattered throughout the park, as well.
Environmental Concerns
The park has suffered from gypsy moth infestations.