Water Trail access continues to expand

Learn more about the Spokane Water Trail at www.spokanewatertrail.org.

Since beginning this initiative in 2009, over 30 stakeholders have stepped forward to help plan and implement actions. The work began with the trail being adopted as part of the Spokane County’s Regional Trails Plan in 2010.

From east to west, below are highlights of the amazing and successful work by stakeholders and partners to create new and restored Spokane River Water Trail access and riparian restoration.

Trailer Park Wave: Trailer Park Wave is a little upstream of Corbin Park, ID and is a popular play area for whitewater enthusiasts. Avista has developed a plan and is seeking regulatory permission to establish and maintain access, including parking, to this site in the 2013-15 timeframe.

State Line: The Spokane Conservation District has initiated the permit process to establish a new access point just upstream of the new Appleway Bridge. This access will provide additional parking and support drift boat, raft and paddler access, including easy whitewater play access to Dead Dog Hole. Riparian restoration will take a badly damaged, weed infested area and replace it with native vegetation. This is being made possible via a lease agreement with WA Department of Transportation, Riverside State Park agreeing to manage the area, the Forum providing some financial support, and an MOU with stakeholders to assist with long term maintenance. A grant from Darden (Olive Garden) is supporting the Forum’s efforts.

Barker Road: Access at this location was preserved but badly damaged with construction of the Barker Road Bridge. The Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club (SCKC) did some initial restoration with City of Spokane Valley. The Forum then worked with Ecology to further improve the access trail as part of an Ecology sediment contamination capping project. As part of this effort, the Conservation District, SCKC and others worked with the Forum and volunteers to restore the riparian area. Last fall, pine trees were added on the upper bench and this spring willow whips planted by the shoreline. This summer Riverside State Park is working with the Forum to build and install a kiosk, and more riparian restoration activities are in the works for this fall. A grant from TransCanada has supported the Forum’s efforts.

Sullivan Park: The Forum has worked with stakeholders to advocate for significantly improved access and restoration at this location. The City of Spokane Valley now has these improvements included as part of their Sullivan Bridge rebuilding project. If all goes well, new access as well as Sullivan Park improvements may be available in 2015 or 2016.

Mirabeau: The Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club (SCKC) has been an amazing partner with volunteers to restore trail access to the river with seven loads of gravel and boulders, removal of 900 lbs of weeds and debris from the hillside, installation of 135 feet of fence line to protect the hillside, and hydro-seeding the hillside. This summer we’ll be working with SCKC to address some erosion issues and the Forum will be installing new signage on the kiosk. As with other projects, Riverside State Park has provided in-kind support for this access project. REI stepped up with the initial grant to make these efforts possible.

Islands Trailhead: The Spokane Conservation District worked with the Forum and stakeholders to design a slide system that would enable rafters, drift boats and paddlers to put-in and take-out at this Centennial Trailhead location, which is in the Coyote Rock area just downstream of Plante’s Ferry. There is an equally strong riparian restoration project to restore this area. A grant request to the state’s Recreation Conservation Office was submitted and is still pending.

Upriver Dam: The City of Spokane Water Department worked with the Forum to install this access in 2010. It’s the gateway to a paddle that takes you to downtown.

McKinstry at Gonzaga: Three cheers for McKinstry, who installed a new access point for paddlers as part of developing McKinstry Station. Their Innovation Center is 38,000 square feet of high tech office space for entrepreneurs and innovators that used to be used to store and repair Spokane trolley cars. It’s located on the north side of the river in the heart of the University District.

Division Street Bridge: The Forum continues to work with stakeholders to advocate for access as part of the multi-million dollar, voter approved bond issue to expand the convention center. The Public Facilities District (PFD) has designated an access point here. Now stakeholders are in the process of advocating that the PFD follow through on commitments to help build it.

Water Street/Glover Field: Hey, dreaming is free. There are very preliminary discussions to establish access, parking, restrooms and interpretive signage at Glover Field as part of installing a CSO tank to support the city’s integrated approach to stormwater management. This would also alleviate people parking in the street to access the river at Water Street and support drift boat access.

Nine Mile Dam: Avista has submitted plans to create a take-out location just above Nine Mile Dam in 2015. This will really open up the gentle five mile paddle from Plante’s Ferry to Nine Mile Dam.

Long Lake Dam: Avista is restoring the put-in access just below Long Lake Dam. The initial water trail access piece is complete and looks terrific.

Other Activities: The Forum has continued discussions to identify paddle and boat access in the Tum Tum area, and continues to advocate for a take-out location just above Little Falls Dam. The National Park Service has been in discussions with homeowners and Lincoln County about establishing access at Moccasin Bay, which is between Little Falls Dam and Porcupine Bay. This effort, however, is considered a long term project.