Category: Parks

Dungeness Recreation Area Master Plan Update 3

Today I’ll tell you about the entrance to the Dungeness Recreation Area (DRA). To accommodate increased usage of the DRA by recreational vehicles, planners envisions adding a turnout lane at this part of Lotzgesell Road in front of the Recreation Area. The entrance is marked here by the blue sign on the right.

Inside the park the current road will be realigned to accommodate moving walking paths away from the eroding bluffs.

Yesterday I told you about 45 new RV campsites that have been proposed in the park. This roadwork is envisioned to accommodate increased traffic as campsite numbers grow from 66 to 111. The additional campsites have the potential of generating considerably more traffic on local roads. Presently, at full occupancy, the 66 campsites generate 132 vehicle trips in and out of the park. In one month of full occupancy that could be close to 4,000 vehicle arrival/departure trips, not counting additional trips to visit local attractions, restaurants and stores. Add in another 45 campsites and there are 222 vehicle arrival/departure trips. In one month of full occupancy that could total over 6,660 trips. At an estimated 80% occupancy rate over the course of a summer, this could total over 16,000 vehicle trips in and out of the park. Admittedly, these figures are seat-of-the-pants calculations as a single vehicle can arrive and stay put for several days; similarly, others might come and go.

In the distance, where you see the power poles on the left, the road has long been intended for realignment to ease its curve from Kitchen-Dick Road. Although it is not an inherently dangerous curve, there was a fatal accident there last October, followed within a couple of months by two additional rollover accidents.

Many locals have not been aware of the Master Plan Update. I am focusing my blog on it in hopes of informing more park users of this process. The comment period on the Master Plan Update has been extended to March 23. Click here to see a map showing the location of the new campsites. Click here to see the realignment of the bluff trail. Click here for information on how to comment.

To my blog followers from out of the area, please bear with me. I’ll be back to my briefer posts by the weekend.

Dungeness Recreation Area Master Plan Update 2

Today I continue to inform locals about the Dungeness Recreation Area (DRA) Master Plan update. One key proposal in the DRA Master Plan is to add 45 campsites with electrical service for recreational vehicles. This new camping area would be constructed in a forested area across the road from the existing camping loops. The trail above is next to the proposed area.

County parks staff emailed Master Plan Update questionnaire links to campground users who thus far have provided a majority of the responses to the proposed plan. Campers who come and go from one to several nights, primarily in summer, generally favor expansion of campsites though not universally. Many locals, including residents adjacent to the park, have been unaware of the process and thus have not provided opinions.

There are currently 66 campsites without electrical service. Many are large enough to accommodate recreational vehicles. About a dozen sites closely parallel the bluffs and because of continual bluff erosion Parks staff foresees their eventual closure. Bluff trails are already closing because of this and the Master Plan foresees moving all adjacent trails back from the bluffs.

Campers pay up to $25 per night and during summer months the campground is frequently full. New sites are proposed to allow more overnight visitors.

Here is one of the issues that generated concern at the last Master Plan meeting: The proposed campground will remove over 2 acres of forest habitat (2.4 acres by my calculations) in an area that is surrounded by increasing development. Other habitat at the south end of the park has been degraded over the years by a variety of activities from farming to hunting. The forest area is one of few untouched areas in the park. While the campground is popular during the summer months, there is little to no competition for sites the rest of the year.

The Master Plan does not exist in a vacuum. Running a park, any park, costs money. DRA has a full time resident manager. Summer staff is hired during the busy season. There’s always maintenance, plus water, electricity, trash removal. And the current manager and volunteers have worked hard to improve and upgrade trails and keeps the campsites looking nice. All this comes with a price tag.

The comment period on the Master Plan Update has been extended to March 23. Click here to see a map showing the location of the new campsites. Click here for information on how to comment.

Tomorrow I’ll show you the access road to the park and describe plans for it.

To my blog followers from out of the area, please bear with me. I’ll be back to my briefer posts in about a week.

Dungeness Recreation Area Master Plan Update 1

Local parks officials have been working with consultants to update a Master Plan for the Dungeness Recreation Area (DRA) in Sequim. This area is close to my heart. It’s also close to my house. It’s the reason we live where we do. If I can I walk here five to seven days a week. It is a gem.

We have attended two public meetings to discuss the Master Plan and its process. Parks staff solicited input from the public at a meeting last November attended by a handful of locals. Last week an update was presented. Attendance was better after a neighbor emailed residents of the adjacent Blue Ribbon Property Owners Association. However, very few locals had been aware of the process or the meetings. Many of us are concerned about the increased development. Because of this I will be giving a pictorial summary in the coming days to inform more neighbors and park users. My hope is that more can comment on the plan.

The DRA is 216 acres of combined open space with hiking trails, two camping loops of 66 sites, and a group camp area. Its western boundary is perched on bluffs that overlook the Strait of Juan de Fuca with views to the Pacific Ocean to the far west and Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands to the north. The park abuts the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and one of the world’s longest natural sand spits. While the park is popular with summer campers and the wildlife refuge draws tourists and birders, DRA is popular with locals who regularly come from throughout the region.

Locals from the neighborhood walk into the DRA through several entrance points but many locals drive here. On a sunny day the DRA is especially popular.

Some of the key features of the new Master Plan include creation of a new 45 site recreational vehicle camp loop, access road realignment, a new pullout lane at the entrance, and new trails. I will highlight some of the key features here over the coming days. To see conceptual maps click here and here (be patient; they make take some time to load). The Master Plan comment period has been extended to March 23. Click here for information on how to comment.

To my blog followers from out of the area, please bear with me. I’ll be back to my briefer posts in about a week.

New park entrance

A new entrance road into Carrie Blake Park opened late last month. The road is just south of the previous entrance and was moved to improve flow in Bell Creek and eliminate flooding. It runs between the Sequim Skate Park and Trinity United Methodist Church.

The new road leads to the Guy Cole Convention Center which has recently been renovated, including fresh paint, new doors and windows.

One of the new windows is this stained glass rendering of a Roosevelt elk by Millie Harrell.

Alexander’s Castle

We camped for a night recently at Fort Worden State Park near Port Townsend. Fort Worden is a compound of former military buildings that now house a conference center, education partnerships, vacation rentals, and eateries as well as campgrounds and beaches. And in the midst of it all is Alexander’s Castle, shown above.

In 1883 the rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Port Townsend, John B. Alexander, acquired 10 acres of land in this area and built what came to be known as Alexander’s Castle. He and his intended bride would live here after he fetched her from Scotland. Alas, she married another and he returned a bachelor. He used the building as a temporary residence. In 1897 the property was acquired by the federal government and the construction of Fort Worden began.

In the 1880s and 1890s Alexander held posts in the region as Honorary British Vice-Consul and Her Majesty’s Consul. In his later years he lived in England and died there in the 1930s. During military operations at the Fort, Alexander’s Castle was used for family living, as an observation post, and a tailor shop.