Parks offer something for every pursuit

• Moulton/Lucia Falls

• Esther Short Park

• Waterfront Trail

• Lewisville Park

• Burnt Bridge Creek Trail

• Firstenburg Community Center

• Information: http://www.cityofvancouver.us/parks-recreation

Tennis anyone?

Or how about hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, snowshoeing, dog walking, gardening or sightseeing?

No matter what you’re into, the Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department is convinced that its trails, recreation centers and 7,400 acres of parks have something for everyone.

The district’s diverse offerings span from a breathtaking 2.2-mile hike in north Clark County between Moulton and Lucia falls to playgrounds, concerts in downtown Vancouver’s historic Esther Short Park, and indoor rock climbing and water slides at Firstenburg Community Center, which opened in 2006 in east Vancouver.

And, thanks to a voter-approved bond measure, new parks are cropping up faster than dandelions after a spring rain.

Voters in the unincorporated urban area of Clark County approved the creation of a Greater Clark Parks District in 2005, which designates property tax money to fund maintenance and operations for 30 new neighborhood parks, five new community parks, seven miles of new walking trails and additional sports fields. More than half are done and more are nearing completion, giving those outside Vancouver city limits space to play in their neighborhoods.

Those parks join dozens of other options for outdoor and indoor activity.

The use of the 65 miles of Vancouver-Clark pedestrian and bicycle-only trails has gone up by 50 percent in one year, according to a user study conducted by Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Trail Program volunteers in September. Among the most popular greenways are the Waterfront, Frenchman’s Bar, Salmon Creek and Burnt Bridge Creek trails.

In the city, administrators have called the Vancouver Tennis and Racquetball Center’s nine indoor tennis courts, two recently remodeled racquetball courts and four lit outdoor tennis courts “a hidden gem.” Senior citizen dances at Luepke Community Center are also huge draws.

Clark County’s oldest and most visited park lies near Battle Ground. Lewisville Park, built as part of the Works Progress Administration program in the 1930s, features 154 acres of forest and meadows bordering the East Fork of the Lewis River, and a three-mile trail system meandering throughout the park.

Vancouver has also drawn national attention as a skater’s paradise, with the 10,000-square-foot BMX and skateboarding park in east Vancouver’s Pacific Community Park as its crown jewel.

But times are growing leaner for Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation; budget woes at both the city and county level will cause some winter closures of several county-maintained parks, maintenance cutbacks and no current plans for any new park development within Vancouver city limits.

A Blue Ribbon Commission is working to figure out ways to better deliver parks services — whether its through creating a separate parks district in combination with many county municipalities; asking voters to approve a levy; sharing maintenance; or simply using more volunteers.