Meadowdale Beach Park

Snohomish County Parks and Recreation

Meadowdale Beach is a 95-acre park within a steep-sided, 300-feet deep ravine that opens out to a delta-shaped beach on Puget Sound. Bruce Dees & Associates prepared the master plan and final design for the park. Access was a critical issue and extensive public participation was a key factor to the success of this design. Nearby residents were concerned about access through their neighborhoods. Through a community involvement process implemented by our firm, needs and concerns were identified and successfully addressed in the plan. For example, nearby residents were concerned about access through their neighborhoods. By designing the main access and parking at the east end of the park, providing trail access to the beach, and siting full-time park ranger lodging near the beach, the master plan addressed the community’s concerns about access, security, and retaining the park’s natural character.

Railroad tracks border the shoreline, but safe beach access is made via an existing tunnel under the tracks with special pedestrian access features added as part of the park’s development. The park’s walk-in access is unique in Snohomish County. Families with young children are the predominant users of the park but the community as a whole has embraced the idea of a walk-in park so much so that the Parks Division considered an expansion of the main parking area.