We've been at work so you can play!

We’ve exceeded our goals from the 2014-2019 King County Parks, Trails, and Open Space Replacement Levy.

King County Parks

A young girl is sitting on a bike with tassels on the handles, smiling at the camera.

In 2013, 70% of King County voters approved a six-year, $414 million property tax levy lid-lift to fund the maintenance and development of local and regional parks, trails, and natural areas. Now that the 2014-2019 Levy has passed, here’s a snapshot of what you, the King County taxpayer, helped accomplish these past six years.

King County Parks had four goals for the levy:

1) Take care of King County's existing system of parks and trails

2) Improve regional trails and non-motorized mobility

3) Grow and connect regional open space

4) Make parks and recreation more accessible

Within these goals, we set some ambitious targets:

Targets included: 1) Operate and maintain our 28,000 acres of open space. 2) Acquire 2,700 acres of parkland. 3) Repair or replace facilities at 5 sites. 4) Rehabilitate 13 playgrounds. 5) Design or construct 14 regional trail connections. 6) Repair or replace 14 bridges and trestles. 7) Construct 11 trailheads. 8) Distribute funding to cities, community partners, and the Woodland Park Zoo.

So, how'd we do?

We rehabilitated 13 playgrounds, including play areas at Big Finn Hill Park, Tolt-MacDonald Park, and Five Mile Lake Park.

Playground renovations funded by the 2014-2019 Levy

We repaired or replaced facilities at five sites, including Marymoor Park, Steve Cox Memorial Park, and Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center.

Sites that had major repairs funded by the 2014-2019 Levy

We acquired 2,700 more acres of parklands, including at Cougar/Squak Corridor, Skyway Park, and Little Lake Forest.

Enjoying the view from the Margaret's Way Trail at Cougar/Squak

Our maintenance crews worked every day to keep our 200 parks clean, safe, and open.

At work so you can play

We designed or constructed 14 regional trail projects, including segments of Eastrail, Lake to Sound Trail, East Lake Sammamish Trail, Green to Cedar Rivers Trail, Foothills Trail, and Green River Trail.

Construction on the Lake to Sound Trail

We repaired or replaced 17 bridges and trestles on regional trails, including 11 on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.

Bridge repair in action on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail

We constructed or supported the construction of 9 trailheads, with several more in the works.

A new trailhead at Duthie

And, through our  Community Partnerships and Grants Program , we supported more than 15 community groups who invested in projects to improve recreation opportunities throughout King County .

Some of our Community Partnerships and Grants from 2014-2019

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Thanks to your support, people in King County can now enjoy:

Renovated playgrounds for kids to play at, like the one at Petrovitsky Park. 

New recreation facilities like the White Center Bicycle Playground,

an accessible walking path on Vashon,

and rowing facilities at Marymoor Park, all supported by the Community Partnerships and Grants program.

Easier access to the outdoors, thanks to improved trailheads and Trailhead Direct.

More miles of regional trails for walking, biking, rolling, and other activities, including new segments of the Foothills Trail,

East Lake Sammamish Trail,

and Eastrail.

More acres of protected open space to explore, like Cougar/Squak Corridor, Skyway Park, and Little Lake Forest.

Upgrades to Marymoor Park, including renewed turf on the ballfields and improvements to the Audubon Bird Loop.

A new multi-use synthetic turf athletic field, stadium renovations, solar panels, and other improvements at Steve Cox Memorial Park.

A well-maintained Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center for swimmers of all levels.

Improved recreational opportunities in local city parks and expanded access to the Woodland Park Zoo.

But wait, there’s more! Thanks again to King County voters, who approved the 2020-2025 Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Levy in August 2019, we’ll continue to be hard at work so you can play.

See what's happening in Your Big Backyard on  Facebook ,  Twitter ,  Instagram ,  Flickr , and the  Parks Plog .

Image credits:

Icons from  The Noun Project  (Iconic, Adrien Coquet, ilCactusBlu, Matt Wasser, Vicons Design, Ben Davis, Chanut Industries, Landan Lloyd)

Enjoying the view from the Margaret's Way Trail at Cougar/Squak

At work so you can play

Construction on the Lake to Sound Trail

Bridge repair in action on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail

A new trailhead at Duthie