By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Nisqually State Park, after being on the drawing board for nearly 30 years, is now an official place for outdoor recreation in south Pierce County. The new park was formally unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 20 that included representatives of the state parks system and the Nisqually Tribe, the key sources of funding and planning for the 1,300-acre site seven miles west of Eatonville off State Route 7. A trailhead, parking lot and restroom are among the park's early development. More development is scheduled through 2028 with a total price tag of $85 million GÇô $50 million in state funding and $35 million from sources that include the tribe, which has a development and management partnership with the state. A store selling Native American-made products and crafts is in previously announced plans for the park. Those blueprints began taking shape in 1987 with the Legislature's approval of the Nisqually River Management Plan, which called for a park with riverside trails. Land for the park that the state acquired between 1991 and 2013 is at the confluence of the Nisqually and Mashel rivers and Ohop Creek, with steep forest valleys, high ridges and reforested plateaus. State parks officials envision Nisqually State Park eventually attracting about 480,000 visitors per year. In addition to the state and the Nisqually Tribe, input on development of the new park came from agencies, local government and organizations that include Mount Rainier National Park, the Town of Eatonville, the University of Washington Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest, Tacoma Power, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pierce County Parks and Recreation and the Nisqually River Council. Local citizens also were involved. Don Hoch, director of Washington State Parks, was among the dignitaries at the new park's official unveiling, which was staged with virtually no fanfare. The newest addition to Washington State Parks' 100-plus recreation sites will be promoted more extensively this spring, according to spokeswoman Virginia Painter. From State Route 7, the park can be accessed via Mashel Prairie Road.
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