Washington State Parks News Releases

News Release 11-035

Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
1111 Israel Road S.W., P.O. Box 42650, Olympia, WA 98504-2650, (360) 902-8500
Don Hoch, Director

Centennial Trail State Park gets new parking lot

OLYMPIA – Jul. 12, 2011 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has opened the Maringo Trailhead parking lot in Centennial Trail State Park in Spokane.

With the support from the Friends of the Centennial Trail, the Washington State Parks Foundation and Inland Empire Paper, Washington State Parks recently completed the new 12-space parking lot at the end of Maringo Drive in the Spokane Valley.

The new parking lot provides parking at the Maringo Trailhead and helps discourage trail users from parking in a nearby residential area. The trailhead already includes restroom facilities and a drinking fountain. While the Commission encourages all park users to support the park system by buying the new Discover Pass vehicle-access permit, the pass is not required for parking in the new lot, which is managed by the City of Spokane Valley.

Once permits were obtained, State Parks staff from the Eastern Region Office, Mount Spokane State Park and Riverside State Park pooled their efforts to build the parking lot. Total construction was accomplished in 20 days. The project cost $48,000 with the money coming from the statewide road account, State Parks Eastern Region Office, Riverside State Park, a donation from the Friends of Centennial Trail and a grant from the Washington State Parks Foundation.

Design and permitting was completed by State Parks Eastern Region Capital Team.

Centennial Trail State Park is a 37-mile paved trail, managed by Riverside State Park. The trail lies along the Spokane River, from Nine Mile Falls to the Idaho state line.

The Commission manages a diverse system of more than 100 state parks and recreation programs, including long-distance trails, boating safety and winter recreation. The 98-year-old park system will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013.

Washington State Parks is now on Twitter at WaStatePks_NEWS and YouTube at WashingtonStateParks.

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