Cottonwood Canyon now open
We had a great time last week greeting our neighbors and partners to Oregon’s newest state park, Cottonwood Canyon. The park is open year-round from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Primitive camping costs about ten bucks during the summer, and $6 from October through April. The park is open to picnickers, hikers, hunters, stargazers, wildflower addicts, lizard admirers, anglers, photography nuts, sage sniffers (and you know who you are), knobby-tire bicyclists and equestrians. More details on the park’s official web page. A few photos from last week’s celebrations below.
Entry sign on the Sherman County side.
Hiker-biker camp
Dozens of people brought their brands to help decorate the park.
Thanks to City of Wasco for loaning the world’s cutest red tractor to take people on a tour of the new park.
The park brand — CwC — was the first of many burned into the park fence.
Local schoolkids enjoying a sunbreak in the park near the historic barn.
Local students Jordan Barrett, Isabella Mills and Cash Helms designed the park’s brand.
Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen delivers a message and poem written especially for the dedication.
Former Gov. Ted Kulongoski — the park began under his tenure.
Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission Jay Graves
Former resident Pat Murtha
Sherman County Judge Gary Thompson
The Reitman family.
Gilliam County Judge Steve Shaffer
About 350 turned out for the opening ceremony.
When finished, the barn will provide shelter for school groups.
Drink in the scenery.
A fence around the barn doubles as a display sharing entries from local diaries.
View from the hiker-biker camp.
Come out to the park next week
We’ll do a ceremony with our neighbors and partners on Sept. 25, then the first full weekend for the park will be Sept. 28-29. The tent campground will be open (running water, vault toilets), but parts may still close every once in a while as construction finishes up later into fall. Our schedule the last weekend in September:
Saturday, Sept. 28
9-11:30 AM: 2 mile Guided Hike by Cottonwood Staff—meet at the trailhead parking lot near the campground; hike will talk about the cultural and natural history of the area plus talk about the past, present and future of Cottonwood State Park
10 AM and 1 PM: Fishing clinic (for youth under the age of 12) and “Let’s Go Birding”
1 PM: “Wind and Water; The Legacy of the American-style Windmill” presentation
Sunday, Sept. 29
9-11:30 AM: 2 mile Guided Hike by Cottonwood Staff—meet at the trailhead parking lot near the campground; hike will talk about the cultural and natural history of the area plus talk about the past, present and future of Cottonwood State Park
10 AM and 1 PM: Fishing clinic (for youth under the age of 12) and “Let’s Go Birding”
Photos from this week:
Cottonwood Canyon State Park almost ready to open
The first full weekend for the park will be Sept. 28-29, and we’ll have guided hikes and activities for kids from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Until then, enjoy some photos our staff and volunteers have taken in the last two years — the youth you see here were part of a volunteer crew working on fences and native grassland studies:
Late summer construction update
- The sewer and power systems are complete. The domestic water and irrigation pumps will be installed in a few weeks (completing the water systems).
- Fencing is 90% complete, and the the archways and gates will be installed next week.
- The Visitor Contact building is getting sided and roofed.
- The picnic shelter roof and final trim are due next week.
- The restroom roofing and siding are set for next week, too.
- Roadways will get the final grading next week and paving will happen soon after.
- Improvements at the J.S. Burres day-use area (on the Gilliam side of the river) are under construction. They also plan to pave before the end of August.
- The entrance road trail is complete.
Summer construction update
Contractors are working electrical, insulation and roofing for the maintenance building.
Roofing, sheeting and framing is moving along nicely for the visitor contact building.
Contractors are also completing framing for the picnic shelter, sheeted the roof and are working on plumbing.
The pump for the irrigation system arrived!
Construction update
Working toward a Sept. 25 opening, contractors and park crews are making steady progress on the few facilities that need to be added near the park entrance. The interior of the park will be trails (usually by re-using the old jeep roads), but there will be a picnic area, welcome station, water and a small primitive campground closer to the highway.
Couple of photos from last week …
Maintenance building slab pour and framing prepped:
Picnic shelter beams set and trusses started:
Restroom:
Cool time-lapse Cottonwood painting
Check it out … nifty time-lapse of a watercolor painting provided by architectural firm Hennebery Eddy’s Dawn Carlton:
