Willamalane Announces More Parks Opening Saturday, March 2

Willamalane Park and Recreation District is opening three more parks beginning Saturday, March 2. Fort Park, Douglas Gardens Park, and all Thurston Hills Natural Area hiking trails will open. Find more details about each park at willamalane.org/alerts. 

While Thurston Hills Natural Area hiking trails are open, the district encourages community members to proceed cautiously and stay on marked trails. There is still storm debris around the trails and impacts on the trail bed. 

Willamalane Executive Director Michael Wargo said, “Reopening the hiking trails at Thurston Hills Natural Area marks a milestone in the storm clean-up efforts. I am so thankful to the volunteers, Willamalane staff, and partner crews who have worked so hard to get our parks and trails back open. We are still asking that people exercise caution in the parks and natural areas, but we are thrilled to welcome the community back to doing what they enjoy most.”

Volunteers have already logged more than 200 hours helping Willamalane clear debris. Several more opportunities are available for community members interested in lending a hand to Willamalane teams. Sign up for a volunteer clean-up event at willamalane.org/volunteer

Parks are deemed “open” when partial or full access to the park is possible. Developed areas of open parks, like playgrounds, basketball courts, and paved paths, have been cleared. However, debris and marked hazard areas may still be present elsewhere. Please use caution and pay attention to posted signs when visiting parks.

The recent ice storm heavily impacted Willamalane parks. Even with the hard work of Willamalane staff and volunteer crews, it may be several months before all debris is cleared and all parks are back to full operation.