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News / Northwest

Big changes coming to this WA state park, but first it has to close for a few months

By Craig Sailor, The News Tribune, Tacoma
Published: January 24, 2025, 10:59am

Nisqually State Park is temporarily closing Jan. 27 for construction work that is fulfilling the park’s long-range development, the state’s parks department announced Thursday. It will reopen in fall.

During the months-long closure, Washington State Parks said, crews will build a roundabout at state Route 7 and Mashel Prairie Road — the park’s entrance — and thin some of the park’s trees to improve forest health.

Construction will continue on an interpretive plaza, several new operational facilities and a 13-mile trail system. Trails will eventually lead to the Nisqually River and include multiple river overlooks.

Permits are being finalized for the park’s welcome center, utilities and an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible trail that will include an overlook of the Mashel River valley.

The various developments in the 1,300-acre park will continue through 2026, the department said. The entrance is about three miles west of Eatonville on SR 7.

History

The park, one of the newest in the state system, features confluences of the Nisqually River with the Mashel River and Ohop Creek. The Nisqually gets its start on the slopes of Mount Rainier.

State planners first proposed the park in 1987. Since the 1990s, various parcels have been acquired.

Eventually, the park will have a 60-site campground co-managed with the Nisqually Indian Tribe.

“We have 10 different types of camping in those 60 sites,” said parks project planner Brian Yearout. They include large RVs, small RVs, tents, standard cabins without plumbing, deluxe cabins with plumbing, group camp, hiker/biker camps, equestrian camp and buddy sites.

The buddy sites are two campsites with a common area in between.

The park’s village will be the heart of the park and have a Coast Salish meeting hall, amphitheater, interpretive trail, play area and outdoor cooking area for Nisqually Tribe events, according to previous reporting from The News Tribune and The Olympian. It would be built near the existing day-use parking lot in 2028 if funded, Yearout said.

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