Celebrate National Trails Day in Trailhead City.
Join King County Parks June 6, 2015, for the grand opening of Cougar/Squak Corridor Park. Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m., and include an open house, plus a guided tour of a new hiking trail.
King County purchased 226 acres in the valley between Cougar and Squak mountains in 2014, with the help of The Trust for Public Land.
The new acreage has been added to existing public lands and creates a 730-acre Cougar/Squak Corridor Park that protects the headwaters of a salmon-bearing stream, and features deep forests, hiking trails and more.
King County Parks employees and volunteers have been busy preparing the new acreage for public use, including removing unwanted invasive vegetation and building new trails.
The park is located at 10610 Renton-Issaquah Road S.E., Issaquah.
The open house features representatives from Washington Trails Association, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land and REI.
Visitors will be invited to explore the lower portion of the park, tour Cougar/Squak Lodge in the park, and join guides from the Issaquah Alps Trails Club on a hike along the new Margaret’s Way Trail – a new, 2.5-mile-long trail that connects to trails in Squak Mountain State Park.
Built by local volunteers working with Washington Trails Association, Student Conservation Association, AmeriCorps NCCC – Gold 7 and a King County Parks backcountry trails crew, the new trail honors the late Margaret Macleod — a park planner for the City of Issaquah, as well as numerous other local, state and federal agencies — whose long career resulted in the preservation of hundreds of acres of land along Issaquah Creek and the Squak and Tiger mountain uplands.
Other activities include two “Ivy Out” events to dig out invasive ivy, coordinated by Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and Seattle Works, plus an opportunity for family and youth to help volunteers build trails.
King County Parks has begun a community engagement process to gather ideas from the public about uses and amenities at the park. Parks employees are working with a steering group to host community meetings in Issaquah.